Ostend (The Brussels Morning Newspaper): An opposition councillor in Ostend raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest involving a construction company and a partner of a hotel company, potentially affecting public decisions and trust in the city council.
Opposition councillor Yves Miroir recently surprised the Ostend city council by saying that a partner of NV Restotel owns a third of the shares in a construction company called Kaizer, which is based in Harelbeke. This has raised concerns about a possible conflict of interest, especially if these companies are involved in projects that the city council is deciding on. Miroir’s comments suggest that business ties might be affecting public decisions, which could harm the council’s honesty and raise questions about how fair and clear the contracting process is.
How will Ostend city council address conflict of interest claims?
It has been said that the city council is under a lot of pressure to deal with these concerns because they could harm public trust in how they govern. This situation might lead to demands for an investigation to see if any wrong actions or rule-breaking have happened, making sure that all decisions are made for the public’s benefit. The news could also affect politics questioning the council’s credibility and causing more examination of the connections between council members and businesses like NV Restotel and Kaizer.
Kaizer was chosen to manage the restoration of the Thermae Palace and the Royal Galleries, but they were supposed to be independent from the city and other partners. It’s strange that a partner bought shares in Kaizer right after the decision was made to work with them. Miroir pointed out that this doesn’t seem fair and looks like a conflict of interest, especially since Kaizer has a big loss of 600,000 euros. He feels like the deal was made by clever lawyers while the city sent someone who didn’t know much to negotiate.
Yves Miroir raised some concerns, so the city council took a break for almost 2 hours to check the Belgian Official Gazette where he found his information. Mayor Tommelein admitted their team doesn’t often look at the Gazette. They want to talk to their legal team first to decide what to do next. The council will meet again by September 6 to see if there’s a legal issue and how to move forward with the renovation of the Thermae Palace and the Royal Galleries.
