Government Minister strongly criticised

Minister of Children and Equality Audun Lysbakken, of the Socialist Left Party, has been accused of funneling funds to self defense classes that were run by the party’s own youth politicians.

Lysbakken has accepted the criticism, and blames the secret funding on poor judgment, lack of time and misunderstandings. The most recent internal documents show that the Ministry, run by the Government coalition Socialist Left Party (SV), let their own political youth group (SU) use their connections in Parliament in order to fund their own self-defense classes.

The Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet broke the news about the secret transaction of of NOK 154,000, which took place last fall. Initially, Lysbakken claimed that all procedures had been followed, but later admitted that an error had been made. He promised a full review of the department’s transactions.

"This case has never been about anything but strengthening girls against sexual harassment," Lysbakken tells NRK.

Parliament has ordered a public inquiry into Lysbakken’s management of the department’s fund, and asked the minister various questions to determine whether the allocation of the funds went against the rules for financial management.

Wednesday Lysbakken chose to make all internal and external communication regarding the funds public, and told reporters that he regrets the party’s handling of the case.

"When I see that we have made the wrong judgment in one situation, I can’t guarantee that it hasn’t happened in other cases," Lysbakken says. "That’s why I am now taking the necessary steps to ensure that we have good routines in place."

Already, the media and the opposition are questioning the SV’s funding of a book about sexual education that was written by two other members of the party. Lysbakken claims that he considered this a good allocation of funds, for a book that it felt natural for him to support. Just because somebody is member of the party shouldn’t mean that the ministries can’t allocate funds to that cause, he explains.

In spite of the accusations and recent disclosures, Lysbakken does not see any reason to resign from his position. "We made the wrong decision, but that’s also where the story ends," he tells NRK.

(NRK)

Julie Ryland

Sunday, 26 February 2012 07:43