RIGA, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Latvian Transport Minister Talis Linkaits is calling for an international tender to fill vacant positions on the management board of the national rail company Latvijas Dzelzcels (Latvian Railways).
The minister said in an interview with Latvian public radio Monday that since Latvijas Dzelzcels CEO Edvins Berzins and management board member Aivars Straksas are resigning from their positions under a mutual agreement with the rail company's supervisory board, an international competition should be organized to fill these jobs that will become vacant as of Aug. 12.
Linkaits said he expects the Latvijas Dzelzcels supervisory board to choose and hire an executive search agency that will help organize the tender, which in the minister's view should be international.
Linkaits said that the rail company needs managers with a modern perspective on the Latvian transport system and that the company needs reforms.
The minister also denied that his distrust in Latvijas Dzelzcels' outgoing managers was politically motivated.
It was announced last Thursday, July 25, that Latvijas Dzelzcels CEO Edvins Berzins and management board member Aivars Straksas are leaving their jobs under a mutual agreement reached with the rail company's supervisory board.
Janis Lange, chairman of the Latvijas Dzelzcels management board, said the rail company's management had to be reshuffled because of a lack of dialogue between the Latvijas Dzelzcels managers and the Transport Ministry.
On May 7, Linkaits announced that he had lost confidence in the rail company's management board, except one member - Eriks Smuksts. The minister voiced suspicions of "possible corruptive schemes" in the company's operations.
Responding to these allegations, Berzins and Straksas filed a defamation complaint with the state police.
