Riga, Jan 9 (LETA) - Culture Minister Agnese Lace (Progressives) said in an interview with Delfi portal that she is concerned about the future of the Latgale Embassy Gors and plans to hand it over in private ownership.

She stressed that Gors, like other regional concert halls, was built with the aim of ensuring access to high-quality professional culture in the regions. The concert hall was built with the support of the European Union funds and the state budget, as well as the co-financing of the Rezekne municipality. The minister stressed that it is this public funding that makes the issue of a possible transfer of the facility to a private tenant crucial.

According to Lace, the public was alarmed by the fact that the audit and the work of the working group on the management of Gors had taken place without a public presentation of the audit conclusions and the working group's recommendations, while at the same time possible development scenarios, including the transfer of the concert hall to a private lease, were being presented in public.

The minister stressed that Gors is important not only in terms of cultural offer, but also in terms of strengthening the Latvian and Latgalian identity, and its importance should also be assessed in the context of public resilience and security. Lace noted that for these reasons, one of the scenarios that should be assessed is the state's participation in the management of the concert hall, in order to keep the concert hall under public management and prevent the risk that it could fall under private management.

Rezekne Mayor Aleksandrs Bartasevics (Together for Latvia/Latvia First), stressed that the municipality is the owner of Gors and, within the framework of its obligations under the legislation, it should monitor the activities of the capital company and regularly evaluate the management models. He pointed out that the audit and evaluation of management models was a logical step by the executive and denied allegations of attempts to influence the artistic content of the concert hall.

Bartasevics pointed out that the option of transferring Gors to a private operator was no longer being considered, as the municipality had concluded that such an option would entail more risks than benefits. At the same time, he stressed that the concert hall would remain under public management and its funding would not be cut.

The discussion also touched suspending Diana Zirnina, the long-standing director of Gors, from her post. Bartasevics pointed out that the decision was taken by the municipality's executive and was not related to financial or professional performance, but to governance and trust issues. Lace, on the other hand, said that the arguments on financial criteria were raised later, while the initial decision was based on non-cooperation in the assessment of governance models.

The minister also pointed out that representatives of professional cultural organizations had publicly expressed their support for state participation in the management of Gors, stressing the need to preserve the concert hall as a publicly accessible center of high quality culture in Latgale. She added that the Culture Ministry, in cooperation with other ministries, should provide a vision on possible scenarios for the future of the concert hall by the end of the month.