The Minister of Smart Management and Regional Development Raimonds Chudars ("New Unity") does not intend to ask the Health Inspectorate to assess the validity of the sick leave issued to the mayor of Ogre County Egils Helmanis ("National Alliance"), the minister confirmed to the magazine Ir, LETA reports.
It was previously reported that Helmanis did not fill out the questionnaire required for obtaining access to state secrets within the established timeframe, which was communicated to him by both the ministry and the Security Police. The local government of Ogre County explained at the beginning of October that the mayor still has an open sick leave. At the end of August, Helmanis promised on Facebook to fill out the questionnaire as soon as he recovers from the injury he sustained during a business trip to Ukraine. At the same time, he expressed the opinion that those in power use access to state secrets "to achieve their political goals and eliminate competitors."
Chudars confirmed earlier this week in a conversation with Ir that the situation has not changed — Helmanis is still on sick leave and has not applied for access to state secrets.
"Right now we are where we are," Chudars noted, emphasizing that the question of Helmanis's health is a matter for a doctor, not the minister.
"We are not the authority that will determine how long a specific person can be sick," he stated.
The minister also confirmed that he does not intend to ask the Health Inspectorate to assess the validity of the sick leave issued. "First and foremost, this is a matter for the Ogre County council," he noted.
As Ir writes, after returning from Ukraine, Helmanis did not participate in the next council meeting on July 31, nor in the Finance Committee meeting on August 21. According to the meeting minutes, the reason was vacation.
On August 25, Helmanis issued a sick leave.
Meanwhile, during his illness, he was repeatedly seen in the council building and at public events, and he was also active on social media, Ir points out.
During Helmanis's absence, his duties as mayor are being performed by his deputy Andris Krauja, who commented to the magazine that he does not know why the mayor first took a vacation and then opened a sick leave. He also does not know when Helmanis will return to work.
Krauja also denies that Helmanis continues to unofficially lead the council during his sick leave. "He may have come by for some things, but personally, I honestly have not met him during this time. He may have been in the building, but to be honest, I don’t know," Krauja said.
