Māris Liopa, Chairman of the Forest Certification Council of Latvia (LMSP), and Pauls Rēvelis, editor of zemeunvalsts.lv, speak with Aija Mežale and Līga Pennere, entrepreneurs from the Balvi region.

How are the inhabitants of Balvi Municipality feeling at the beginning of 2021?

Aija Mežale: The pandemic and the associated restrictions have affected many, myself included, psychologically. We, as people, are not meeting! Quite some time will have passed since many processes began taking place remotely, including Balvi municipal council meetings. A great many things and events have not taken place; for instance, we gave very serious thought to a Christmas market for entrepreneurs, which did not happen. The year has started differently than usual and differently than we had hoped. As I said, many plans have stalled, and unfinished business has piled up.

What has been done? The renovation of the Balvi House of Culture has been completed, although we still cannot get inside... The local government prepared a short video so that the people of the region could see how it looks now, what the rooms are like, and what we will be able to use.

Aija Mežale	Līga Pennere

This is a local election year, and the "virus has not overly affected" preparations for them, as the merging of municipalities is proceeding on course (at least for us), and the candidate lists have been drawn up in good time. For us, much like elsewhere, the old Balvi district is "returning" – the municipalities of Viļaka, Baltinava and Rugāji are joining the Balvi Municipality.

Preparing for this conversation, I reflected on how, unfortunately, people are currently feeling more downcast – they want to meet, to be out in society, they want to be active, but... We want to see our conversational partner's smile, facial expressions, and grimaces. We believe that will be possible again soon, but right now, even such very ordinary things are sorely missed! Hopefully, spring will be beautiful!

Līga Pennere: I will go back a little to the New Year celebrations. At my small shop, we also sell pyrotechnics, and the sales this year surprised us – experienced retailers that we are. We sold about 40% more than ever before! People came with the idea of: "shooting or blowing all the bad away", and creating joy for themselves and others even in this way. That's exactly it – blowing all your problems away!

Aija: We in Latgale have a slightly different temperament than elsewhere in Latvia. We like vibrancy and colourful celebrations. The question of whether we can or cannot afford it at any given moment often takes a back seat; the main thing is to organise and celebrate.

You mentioned that in the course of the municipal reform, the Balvi district has “returned”.

Aija: Representatives from the Rugāji Municipality turned to the Constitutional Court; the case has been initiated and is awaiting a hearing. In Rugāji, they think they are important and strong enough to live separately; there is a view that upon coming back together, the large Balvi Municipality will not take into account the former smaller municipalities, and they will be left neglected. That is not true, however! Of course, it is very important what the municipal leadership will be like and what the composition of the deputies elected in June will be. If the new municipal leadership sees what is important, worthy of support, and significant in every part of the municipality, every village and parish, then it will be as it should be!

Experience tells and shows various stories; once upon a time, it was like this: funding was needed both in Balvi and Bērzpils, and a choice had to be made... The scales tipped in favour of Balvi. This same experience also says: things must change! They must change! If Rugāji or Viļaka needs investment and financing, it must be provided and the money must be given!

Not so long ago, there was a story about the Rugāji stadium.

Aija: It is good that there is a stadium in Rugāji! Balvi can and definitely should learn from the smaller municipalities; for example, Rugāji has a very well-functioning and organised education system.

Līga: If we are going to be together in the Balvi Municipality again, we will have to work together and look towards a single goal. If you pull a blanket in different directions, you can tear it.

Will the current municipal centres not be abandoned or forgotten?

Aija: Definitely not! A lot of work has been done over these 12 years; needs and the situation are clear in many places, and what has been started will not be abandoned. As I mentioned before: that is how it must be!

In connection with Covid-19, care homes have been mentioned a lot. Will all care homes in Balvi Municipality receive equal attention?

Aija: We have many care homes: the Balvi nursing home, and care homes in Viļaka and Šķilbēni. In this regard, however, one must look at the financing: what the municipality provides, what the state provides, and what the person being cared for pays themselves. It is also important to see what the situation will be like a year from now, what the funding will be then, and how the budget will be filled.

Who are and will be the biggest entrepreneurs in the region?

Aija: Farmers and foresters. Perhaps we do not have a huge number of people employed directly in those sectors, but there are many associated services – road hauliers, road builders, etc. We use woodchip heating – a local resource that we purchase from local entrepreneurs. Of course, we want to support our own, but it must be reminded that price still determines a lot. The mindset of "supporting our own" definitely needs to be developed, and there will come a time when our "own" will lower the price themselves. It is a relative circle that would be beneficial for everyone!

Līga: Among the local retail stores, we have Top! and Beta, and the local business "Labais". It is the right way to think and act: one must support the small shops and their owners, who have had a harder time during this period. Unfortunately, if we look and count the cars parked, most are at Maxima. Incidentally, Maxima rents land from the church, which for the house of worship is a significant relief in these times.

The Gulbene-Balvi road leads along the embankment of the former railway. The road is battered. At one time, President A. Bērziņš talked to the local government leaders of this area about restoring the railway. Has anything been heard about that?

Aija (sighs): It has gone completely quiet! Who knows if anything will come of it... They are promising us road repairs in the foreseeable future, and a project is being prepared for it.

Līga: It is better for the repairs to be prepared more slowly than for events to unfold like the Balvi-Alūksne road, which was repaired quickly – in two months – and now... it has fallen apart. It was good, but now – nothing!

Is the reason for the poor state of the roads the considerable distance from Riga?

Aija: Perhaps... planning is regional... Although the Gulbene-Rēzekne road was recently repaired.

The flow of movement from Balvi is towards Riga, and many also travel to Rēzekne – for work, shopping, and, in "normal times", to the "Gors" concert hall. If we talk about costs, we as entrepreneurs understand that it is difficult to compete with the big cities. We, the middle generation, use the internet, but we still like to shop locally and get our hands on what we are buying. The younger generation shops online. It is simpler that way.

Has any entrepreneur in Balvi ceased operations during this time?

Līga: As I am an independent consultant for the beauty industry in Balvi Municipality, consulting and leading masterclasses for professionals, I see and understand that this industry has been hit very hard.

What do people in Balvi do if they are forbidden from working?

Līga: There is a slogan: "those who change survive". It is ironic. There are people who do not really have anything to change. Looking at my own experience, I am a shopkeeper; I work remotely, I deliver goods, I pack what is necessary, etc. As a result, there is a lot more work. But... It is a good thing that there is!

Speaking of others – hair salons have resumed work, but representatives of other beauty sectors still cannot work. Our town's only hotel is closed; I understand that it is possible to apply for a state programme and host people in isolation who need it, but... do we need that in Balvi? Of course not!

Cafes can work in a takeaway/hand-over mode, but... We do not have so many people who will want that and who will ensure work for all the cafes. Furthermore, a cafe is also about enjoying the atmosphere, not just an opportunity to eat.

Last year in Latvia, many were looking for hands for berry picking... They looked, but did not find...

Līga (laughs): It was exactly the same here! There are berries, there is a harvest, there are fields, there is an offer, but there is no one to pick them! No one is invited to work picking berries for nothing! People have no work, but at the same time, the farmer has no berry pickers. Finding employees is practically impossible.

Aija: Unfortunately, there are people for whom the best solution is to do nothing and live off benefits. I think the current benefit system is a great state error for Latvia, because I see that in some places the habit of not working continues from generation to generation – the grandfather did not work, the father did not, the son did not... and so it continues...

Līga: My cousin is involved in buying up forest berries in the summer. Last year, there were so many berries in the forests that one could have earned a living for at least a year, until the next season. What happened? A person comes, knows how much one "bottle of booze" costs, goes to the forest, picks enough berries for exactly one bottle, buys it, and that's it. They don't need any more! And, it happens that after a while, this same person loudly complains that the state or someone else is not taking care of them.

Aija: The European Union's social guarantees have spoiled Latvian society. There is a part of society that feels no urge to do anything.

Līga: It is a circle: "I don't want to pay taxes because I don't know if I will receive a pension and what kind of guarantees I will have in old age", but if we don't pay taxes, there will be no guarantees at all. What is there to add?

Vaccination and the attitude towards it in Balvi Municipality

Aija: It is difficult in practical terms. There is a distinctly visible desire among people to hear the worst, not the best. The story of potential benefits falls on deaf ears. There are not many older people who are confidently going to get vaccinated.

Līga: The fragmented and broad, very vague flow of information also does its part. People are confused.

Aija: As I mentioned, people in our parts like vibrancy, but we are gloomier ourselves; we don't believe in many things and we are cautious. There is a lack of reasonable self-discipline; many walk around with a cough and fever without thinking that they can infect others. There are high demands placed on the state, the local government, and other members of society, but... there are no demands on oneself. "It won't affect me." "I do everything right, but look, he does not!"

What would be the first tasks to be performed in the new municipality?

Aija: Support for entrepreneurship. We must talk to entrepreneurs, see what we can give them, and what they offer so that work in the region continues. For example, the issue of rent, for example, jobs.

For the councillors who will be elected, one of the first tasks should be to listen and understand what is current in the former municipalities. Of course, more or less it is clear, because while preparing lists for the elections, each candidate has come with their own ideas and knowledge. Things that have been started must be completed. I know that the design of a drainage system has been started in Baltinava, which must be continued. We must know what has been started and what needs to be continued or finished. Furthermore, as I mentioned, jobs and education.

When the new Balvi municipal council is elected and there is one municipality, a development plan will be created. In this regard, there will definitely still be some guidelines from VARAM.

Education

Aija: In Balvi, there is a gymnasium and a secondary school; secondary schools are in Viļaka, Baltinava, and Rugāji; in Rekava and Tilža, only primary schools remain (last year, the secondary school stage was closed there); in Bērzpils, unfortunately, this year is the final year for the secondary school. What is important: the situation in each place must be weighed very carefully, because the closure of a school means a relative "stalling" of the populated area. It is important for the school to be close! And... modern young people and children are quite demanding, which means the teacher must be a high-calibre professional. Young people feel the situation very well!

Līga: There will be more jobs, there will be people, we will need a school! It is simple! Speaking of schools, they really and immediately need a new generation of teachers, which, understandably, is an issue to be solved at the state level. It has happened that I have encountered the odd teacher of pre-retirement age who only thinks about their pension, leaving teaching work in the background. Children see that! Consequently – knowledge suffers...

Aija: It happens that teachers often have to think more about their salary than the quality of work. For five years, I had the opportunity to chair the Balvi Gymnasium council. We repeated and repeated – you must be the best! We did a lot for the teaching staff to be young. But! If we look at Latvia as a whole – there is a great shortage of teachers, because the profession is not prestigious.

You are on the Russian border. Quite a lot is said about that (the border zone), including smuggling and false information travelling across the border...

Aija: Speaking of smuggling, that is done by people who are close to the organisers of the "big" process. I think those who did it before are still continuing. There are not many people who are close to or engaged in such matters. As for the influence of Russian news on the region's inhabitants: I do not feel that. Of course, we can talk about watching some Russian TV programme and liking or disliking it, but that is unimportant.

Cross-border agreements with Russia exist, and cooperation takes place: in business, in fixing up objects, in tourism. However, the Latgale Planning Region is more involved in that.

Līga: I just read the book "Brothers". Cooperation with local governments in the neighbourhood (Russia) takes place, and it must be done because we live right next to each other. We do not feel any serious political influence from Russia in our parts.

Is greater municipal control felt or expected in connection with the VARAM reform?

Aija: I think it is and will be, and the desire to control will only grow. I haven't looked into how it happens elsewhere, but often there is a felt desire to live beyond one's means: loans are taken, there are new obligations, we go a bit overboard without understanding what we can and cannot afford. Is the project offered to the municipality useful and necessary for us, or should we take it just because it's being offered...

Perhaps the desire to control is political, because the party alliance managing the ministry is new. But that is balanced by the municipal leaders and the Association of Local Governments, who are often angry about decisions made in the ministry.

Līga: Who likes being controlled? I see it similarly to how it is for us in Balvi – Viļaka will join, Baltinava will join, Rugāji will join. One person says – "municipalities are merging", another – "the small ones are being included in the larger one". It is important that the issues that need to be solved in the Balvi municipal council by the deputies are not overly different. To work, what is needed is the common ground!

Aija: There will be quite a lot of competition in the elections – 9 lists! If now there are more than 40 deputies in the municipalities in total, there will be 15 in the merged one. In our parts, people need concrete things that need to be included in the pre-election programme. Empty phrases are not held in high regard.