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The millions’ fees to consultants in Oslo’s water and sewerage department could be the last straw, meaning the Liberal Party will also vote for Lan Marie Berg’s censorship in town hall on Wednesday.
The Liberal Party, led by group leader Hallstein Bjercke, is now increasing pressure on City Councilor Lan Marie Berg ahead of an upcoming vote of no confidence against her in Oslo City Hall. Photo: archive
On Wednesday, December 9, the Oslo City Council will vote on a vote of no-confidence that the parties Frp and FNB (Folkeaksjonen no to more tolls) have raised against Lan Marie Berg. She is councilor for the Environment and Transport.
The background to the motion of no confidence is the revelations about violations of the Work Environment Law at the energy recovery agency in Oslo.
You get a water tunnel in the wood.
But now Berg is also in trouble with a completely different agency. The news in the Byggeindustriens trade magazine about fees of around NOK 50 million for two contracted consultants is now increasing political pressure on Berg.
The Water and Sewerage Authority did not hire anyone in a permanent position as director of the billion-dollar project to provide Oslo with a new water supply. Instead, the agency ended up hiring a consultant.
He alone is likely to receive total consulting fees of NOK 25 to 30 million over the next eight years.
Councilor for Environment and Transport Lan Marie Berg (ODM) and Councilor Raymond Johansen (Labor Party) have received another agency case that could create problems for them. Photo: Stein J. Bjørge
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Two contracted consultants can cost the municipality of Oslo close to NOK 50 million
The left increases the pressure on Berg
On the same day that the construction industry case was published on Thursday, November 26, the agency’s management went to a meeting with the Berg city council department.
This has resulted in a 49-page memorandum in which the water and sewerage management explains the case. A memorandum was then sent to the members of the city council’s transportation and environment committee just before they met on Wednesday, December 2.
The new case has the Liberal Party also rattling with sabers before the town hall meeting.
The party’s group leader, Hallstein Bjercke, reacts to the actual size of the consultants’ fees. And he questions whether the water and sewerage department has broken the fairness rules.
This in relation to both the hiring of the project manager and others in managing the project for the new water supply.
The group leader Hallstein Bjercke in the Liberal Party will also take the case of consultant fees in the water and sewerage department not in the assessment of trust or not in Lan Marie Berg. Photo: Olav Olsen
– He does not defend the case in his favor
– We already have on the table the case of violations of the Labor Environment Law and illegal acquisitions in the energy recovery agency. And now this comes with consultant fees and fairness issues in water and wastewater, Bjercke tells Aftenposten.
Now he will not announce that the Liberal Party will vote in favor of the vote of no confidence, but says this will be decided at a group meeting in the Oslo party on Monday.
– We will address the issue of mistrust in our group. This is not in their favor, says Bjercke.
Berg rejects criticism
Lan Marie Berg questions Bjercke’s criticism. He points out that the actual government agencies, in which the Liberal Party participates, have hired consultants with experience in tunnels. This in relation to Follobanen.
– It is important to make sure that we use the maximum experience to perform limited, complicated and critically important tasks, says Berg about the consultants hired for the water and sewer department project.
She completely denies that there was a violation of probity rules in the project that is building Oslo’s new water supply. And it refers here to the agency report.
– I have also openly shared the agency statement with the city council, and now we are looking at this more closely. I am concerned that we will do a proper job when rape allegations are made, Berg says.
Siavash Mobasheri, leader of Rødt in Oslo, believes that it will be good to leave out the last case when it comes to voting for or against distrust against Lan Marie Berge next Wednesday. Photo: Rosmin Mathew / Red
Red: always messy
Even if all the opposition in the town hall were to come together in a common front against Councilor Berg, there would be no censorship decision without Rødt also being involved. Rødt is a support party and budget partner for the red-green city council with the Labor Party, SV and ODM.
At the time of writing, it does not appear that Rødt will vote for censorship in Berg.
– We will discuss the motion of no confidence in our group. But I think it will be good to keep this new issue out of Wednesday’s vote, says Siavash Mobasheri. He is a representative of the city council and leader of Rødt in Oslo.
But Berg doesn’t get Rødt’s nod either:
– We are surprised that there is always a mess in the Berg Town Hall agencies, says Mobasheri.
– Take a great distance
Berg also makes no sense of this criticism of her:
– The agencies that I am responsible for collect waste from homes and businesses, take care of fire safety in the city, make sure everyone has clean drinking water and a number of other critical tasks in the city, all every day, for all Oslo residents. I strongly dissociate myself from Rødt’s description that “there is always a mess” at these agencies, says Berg.
