Bookstores, public baths and even funeral homes: municipalities ignore calls to abandon such businesses | Business

There are at least five funeral homes in Panevėžys, and one of them – “Grauduva” – belongs to the municipality.

Economists in Lithuania raise an eyebrow because of such examples – where private businesses operate, the state or municipalities should not interfere.

“The state creates competition for private business. It’s the same as in sports, referees run out onto the pitch and start whistling and telling the other players to play as they say,” 15min commented company management expert Rytis Ambrazevičius.

Luka Balandios / 15min photo/Rytis Ambrazevičius

The president of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, Elena Leontjeva, also agrees with him: those commercial functions that a person can get on the market should not be performed by state or municipal companies.

Personal archive photo/Elena Leontyeva

However, although the number of state-owned companies has decreased in recent years, municipalities are still in no hurry to give up their companies.

Birštonas municipality manages the sanatorium “Versmė”, Druskininkai – the water park “Aqua”, Širvintai – the company “Širvintai verslui ir laivalaikius”, which has a cafe, game room and waterboarding park, Klaipėda city municipality – and the company “Vildmina” providing public bath services. and the pharmacy “Debrecen Vaistinė”, and in Anykščiai – the public institution “Sveikatos oase” managing the swimming pool.

Photo of Druskininkai City Municipality/View of Druskininkai Water Amusement Park from the aerial gondola

In Lithuania, you can still find municipally owned bookstores (“Jonava’s book”, “Pasvalio’s books”, Širvintos bookshop”, “Varėna’s book”) or funeral homes (“Gedmina” in Šilalė, “Grauduva” in Panevėžys or “Shakių laidojimomai marai”). Many municipalities still manage their own markets, bus stations or apartment maintenance companies. And here, the Ministry of Culture still owns half of the shares of the public institution “Baltijos Cirkas”, according to the data of the Register Center.