On Friday, LVŽS reported that A. Žekas hid information about the use of these funds from the members of the party’s working group.
“At the beginning of the summer, the Union of Lithuanian Peasants and Greens formed a working group, which had to collect information from the party’s branches about the allowances of councilors used by our representatives in municipal councils. Departments were asked to provide information on whether and which politicians’ use of benefits could raise questions about the transparency of their use. In fact, we had a feeling that there might be questions about Mr. Algis Žeks in the Alytus district. And not only for us, the party, but also for law enforcement,” Seimas member Guoda Burokienė, head of the LVŽS working group on the transparency of the use of benefits received by members of municipal councils, said in a party statement.
According to her, despite being requested, A. Žekas did not provide data on the use of the mentioned funds, claiming that they were spent transparently.
“Today, the representatives of the party tried to contact Mr. Žek, trying to get an explanation from him about the revealed situation, but the member of the Alytus district municipal council refused to give his position or comments,” asserted G. Burokienė.
According to LVŽS, law enforcement is conducting a pre-trial investigation into the legality of the use of benefits received by members of the Alytus District Municipal Council.
Public representative Andrius Tapinas announced on his Facebook account on Friday that LVŽS representative A. Žekas “allegedly poured fuel 411 times” at the same gas station for two years.
“The party supports and supports the “Skaidrinam” initiative of publicist Andrias Tapinas, and trusts the law enforcement officers conducting the investigation, who will cooperate in providing information, if such a need arises,” states the report of “Valstėiųs”.
LŽVS says it regrets and apologizes to the people of Lithuania for A. Žek’s behavior.
According to the report, further decisions regarding the possibility of this politician continuing his activities in the Union of Lithuanian Peasants and Greens will be taken after the law enforcement investigation.
A. Žēkas heads the agricultural company “Atžalynas” and is a long-time member of the “peasants” party.
window.fbAsyncInit = function() {
FB.init({
appId: ‘117218911630016’,
version: ‘v2.10’,
status: true,
cookie: false,
xfbml: true
});
};
(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) {
return;
}
js = d.createElement(s);
js.id = id;
js.src = “https://connect.facebook.net/lt_LT/sdk.js”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
#Due #nontransparent #funds #LVŽS #suspends #Žeks #membership #party
**Interview with Guoda Burokienė, Head of the LVŽS Working Group on Transparency**
**Interviewer:** Thank you for joining us today, Guoda. The recent revelations about A. Žekas and his handling of municipal council allowances have raised several questions. Can you summarize the situation for us?
**Guoda Burokienė:** Yes, of course. Earlier this summer, our party, the Union of Lithuanian Peasants and Greens (LVŽS), established a working group to investigate the transparency of allowances used by our council members in different municipalities. During this process, we grew concerned about the practices of Mr. Algis Žekas in the Alytus district, mainly because we suspected there could be transparency issues.
**Interviewer:** What specific information were you hoping to gather from Mr. Žekas?
**Burokienė:** We issued a request for data on how allowances were utilized and whether any councilor’s use of these benefits might raise concerns. This was essential for ensuring accountability and transparency within our party and the wider community.
**Interviewer:** How did Mr. Žekas respond to your requests?
**Burokienė:** He claimed that his use of funds was transparent but did not provide any documentation or detailed information to support his statement. Despite repeated attempts by party representatives to engage him for clarification, he declined to comment on the matter.
**Interviewer:** What are the implications of this lack of transparency for the party and for Mr. Žekas personally?
**Burokienė:** This situation complicates our commitment to transparency, which is a core value for us. It also raises concerns that could lead to scrutiny from law enforcement. We aim to uphold our integrity as a party, and we cannot ignore possible misconduct within our ranks.
**Interviewer:** Are you actively pursuing further actions in light of these findings?
**Burokienė:** Yes, we intend to continue our investigation and collaborate closely with relevant authorities to ensure that all council members adhere to the standards of transparency and accountability. We owe it to our constituents and to the credibility of our party.
**Interviewer:** Thank you, Guoda, for sharing your insights. We will be following this story closely as it develops.
**Burokienė:** Thank you for covering this important issue.
