Hoeselt (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Auditor Flanders produced a forensic report that led Bilzen-Hoeselt city council to receive intense criticism from the local opposition. The forensic report by Audit Flanders found conflicts of interest and irregularities throughout the Sports Park construction project at Hoeselt.
The city council of Bilzen-Hoeselt is facing intense scrutiny following a forensic report by Audit Flanders, revealing
“irregularities and possible conflicts of interest surrounding the construction of the Sports Park in Hoeselt.”
The report has ignited a fierce debate, with the opposition strongly criticising the majority party, Team Burgemeester, for allegedly disregarding public procurement procedures. The controversy centres around potential breaches of conduct and raises questions about the handling of millions of euros in public funds.
“Audit Flanders has made comments about certain procedures,”
Says Alderman Yves Croux (Team Burgemeester).
“The report names a number of people with a possible appearance of a conflict of interest, so it has not been demonstrated that people did something on purpose, but they may have been involved.”
The opposition is critical of the way things are going.
“I think we can see on repeated levels that respect for the public procurement procedure is being ignored,”
Says Annick Ponthier (Vlaams Belang).
“Rules are being changed en cours de route ; they are just doing their own thing. In our opinion, the report shows that the general interest is not being served, but that other interests are taking precedence, and that is not acceptable for a public administration.”
Johan Sauwens of Trots, who is also in the majority, is also critical.
“It is not a matter of majority or minority, all municipal council members must demand transparency in such a file,”
Says Sauwens (Trots).
“It concerns millions of euros and the procedures have not been followed, according to Audit Vlaanderen. So we want to know who is responsible, whether criminal sanctions should be taken and whether there are financial consequences for Bilzen-Hoeselt.”
The opposition parties are asking that the civil servants and lawyers involved be heard at an upcoming city council.
“I don’t know if that will happen; I have no idea even if that is allowed,”
Says Yves Croux.
“So I think we should first ask Binnenlands Bestuur about that.”
“But we will get to work with the 2 recommendations from Audit Flanders. On the one hand, this concerns ‘public procurement legislation’ and on the other hand, deontology. We have already formulated our opinion to Audit Flanders and will work on that. But in the future, we will ensure that the processes run better than in the past.”
How Does this relate to regional governance and development in Limburg?
The Sports Park dispute takes place within the developmental framework of Limburg province and its administrative structure in Belgium that governs Bilzen and Hoeselt. Local economies and community happiness rely heavily on appropriate public funding management for sports facilities, including sports parks.
Sustainable regional development suffers from decreased public trust when the Audit Flanders report demonstrates insufficient transparency and non-protocol adherence during project management. The Limburg province successfully implemented the Haspengouw fruit region promotion through transparent media promotions, which revealed the benefits of well-executed projects for regional development.
