Opinion: Fate of the Society Integration Foundation seen as test of the incoming government's resolve
Commentator Bens Latkovskis argues that the decision on Latvia's Society Integration Foundation (SIF) will show whether the incoming government is ready for real change in public administration. He criticises the fund's results and warns that moving its functions to ministries may bring no savings.
The Latvian outlet NRA has published a commentary by Bens Latkovskis on the future of the Society Integration Foundation (SIF). It is the author's opinion rather than a news report. The foundation distributes state funding to integration projects and non-governmental organisations, and its budget this year is 32 million euros. The commentary calls SIF one of the indicators by which the seriousness of the incoming government can be judged.
Background
Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs presented the priorities of the forthcoming government on Tuesday, 10 November. One of them is putting public finances in order through eliminating waste and strict austerity. The SIF issue was initially placed on the agenda of the cabinet meeting, but it was later acknowledged that the current caretaker government cannot decide on such a complex matter. The decision therefore falls to the new government.
The author's arguments
Latkovskis believes the real return on the money the fund spends is minimal. As the main evidence he cites election results: parties previously excluded from taking part in coalitions retain roughly the same popularity as 20–30 years ago. From this the author concludes that the integration process has failed and that SIF should take responsibility, although he does not claim the fund alone is to blame.
The author would like to see SIF liquidated or thoroughly reorganised. He fears its functions will simply be redistributed among ministries, while the distribution of funding to non-governmental organisations is entrusted to the State Chancellery. SIF Secretariat director Inese Kalvāne has already said that such a redistribution would produce no savings, and Latkovskis agrees.
Proposal
The author urges the new government to set up, as soon as possible, a review group for the functions of SIF and other bodies to assess which projects are socially useful. As warning signs he lists job titles such as motivation coach or diversity and inclusion specialist. In his view, if voters do not see the expected action, the disappointment will be considerable.
