On 21 October, the President of Latvia Egils Levits met with the Auditor General Rolands Irklis and the Member of the Council of the State Audit Office Kristine Jaunzeme to discuss the findings of the audit "State civil protection system planning and preparedness". President Levits agrees with the State Audit Office's call to create a high-level crisis and civil protection management institution, which could be a task for the new government.
State Audit Office has concluded that the national civil protection system does not have the preconditions for effective disaster management and crisis management - improvements are needed and possible in all segments of the system to better prepare for, prevent and effectively manage crises.
"National security has three pillars - defence, home affairs and civil protection. Our defence sector is developed and strong, the home affairs sector needs to be significantly improved, while the civil protection system is in a state of disrepair," said Egils Levits.
"Citizens and the responsible services know what to do in case of floods or fires - disasters we have witnessed before. But we are not prepared for modern crises such as pandemics, cyber-attacks or the threat of hostilities," said President Egils Levits, advocating that such an institution should operate under the authority of the government or the State Chancellery, with the aim of engaging in crisis coordination between the various parties involved, as well as being responsible for planning and monitoring the development of a civil protection plan.
"The management of the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the weaknesses of Latvia's disaster management system and the necessary improvements. In particular, the institutional model for disaster management provided for in the regulatory acts was used in a fragmented way and the search for the most appropriate institutional model for pandemic management continued throughout the pandemic," noted Auditor General Rolands Irklis.
During the meeting, representatives of the State Audit Office informed the President Levits of the need to review the way in which civil protection plans for crisis situations are developed and called for regular and comprehensive civil protection exercises to train the preparedness of all parties involved in crises.
