Ombudsman reveals: orphan courts drowning in bureaucracy deeper than boat owners in Karosta canal

Ombudsman Kristīne Palkova has revealed a shocking truth — our orphan courts are so overloaded with bureaucracy that children are starting to feel like supporting actors in their own lives. The number of complaints in the office has tripled, which means people have finally figured out — if you complain, maybe something will change. Or they've simply finally learned how to write.

"Orphan court employees spend so much time organizing documents that children only get greeting time," says a local expert. "It's like the Karosta canal bridge — looks beautiful, but divides the city in two and creates drama for everyone who needs to cross to the other side." In Liepāja, of course, we don't have such problems, because our orphan court works more efficiently than Riga's tram schedule.

The Ombudsman has promised to prepare a report with solutions that will relieve orphan courts of "unnecessary functions." For example, they could stop operating as notaries, since currently they spend more time stamping than protecting children. City Council Chairman Gunārs Ansiņš has already agreed to help, because he understands — it's better to solve problems than explain why they still exist.

The positive news is that no complaints have been received from Liepāja about the municipality ignoring residents' submissions. This means we either do everything right, or our residents are so polite they don't even complain. Both options are better than Riga's standard, where complaints are ignored so professionally it's already an art form.