This is evident from a comprehensive report from the consulting company Deloitte, which became known on Monday. This week the case comes up in the county council in Vestland. At what point does an education politician and education bureaucrat who finds love have to let those around them know about it? How should politician colleagues react when they become aware of the love affair and are suspected of incompetence? This is the background to why the control committee in Vestland County commissioned the audit company Deloitte to start a comprehensive investigation. Love between training leaders At the center of the story is Karianne Torvanger. During 2019, she found the tone with Kenth Rune Teigen Måren, and at one point they became lovers. There was only one problem: She was elected and he was a bureaucrat, both in Vestland County Municipality. Or more precisely: she was the Labor Party’s leader in the education committee, and he was leader in the education administration. And with that, both the Administration Act and the Municipal Act came into play, with their rules for competence. Must cause The legislation lists various relationships that can be problematic: “brother-in-law”, “is or has been married”, “guardian”, “foster mother” – but not lovers. – Nevertheless, the two should have notified their superiors, said expert in administrative law Jan Fridthjof Bernt, when the case became known. Torvanger had to send a written explanation to the county council and to the county council group in Ap. She also had to undertake to cooperate constructively with the administration. But at the same time, she is particularly critical of several aspects of the case against her. Torvanger claims she was put through a painful process that contained both threats, breached the county council’s ethical regulations and breached the Municipal Act and the Administration Act. Karianne Torvanger notified the control committee of what she considers to be objectionable conditions. Photo: Brit Jorunn Svanes / news No access The consulting company Deloitte is now giving her support in several areas. Several, but not all, of the conditions reported are objectionable. Breaches of the Administration Act and the Municipalities Act have been found, but not the Public Works Act. Several of the documents Torvanger asked for access to were not sent over without unnecessary delay. Parts of the process are not documented as they should be, which means that “the whistleblower has not been given access to all parts of the process”. Unannounced meetings were held between the county mayor and the group leaders in the other parties, and there are no minutes from significant conversations that have influenced the proceedings. “Together, these shortcomings have contributed to undermining trust in the process on the part of the whistleblower,” the report states. – I feel the report supports me in some of these matters. I think that is very good, says Torvanger, who adds that it has been a demanding case. Lack of information The investigation also reveals that there was a mistake in the handling of the case when Torvanger applied for exemption from the position as head of selection. The leave period was extended without Torvanger having applied for it, and without her receiving information about it. Deloitte concludes that this is “unfortunate”. At the same time, it is established that the county council did not handle her request for access fully in accordance with the relevant legal requirements. Torvanger also believes that politicians have tried to influence her to get her boyfriend to change jobs. But Deloitte has found no evidence that this has happened. In the notice, she also says that she was subjected to “undue pressure/threats” not to participate in a county council meeting in June 2021. Deloitte says they cannot document this, and that different people have experienced the situation differently. But Deloitte underlines “that it is unfortunate that a public authority feels pressured from safeguarding its duty and right”. County mayor Jon Askeland (Sp) says it was important to deal with the case quickly. Photo: Paul André Sommerfeldt / news – Had to deal with the case quickly County mayor Jon Askeland (Sp) indicates that it has been an inflamed case. He says it was resolved under time pressure, where all group leaders expressed that they should be kept informed until the county council decided the matter. The need for quick case processing meant that certain meetings were not recorded “as is known”, according to Askeland. In a separate hearing statement in the report, the county mayor writes: “None of the parties requested minutes from the information meeting with them either, this because no decision was ever made, and that the meeting was closed.” In addition, he points out that the matter was dealt with during the pandemic when everything was shut down and all communication took place on Teams. – I take note of the criticism, and I hope we don’t come across similar issues later. He believes that the most important lesson is that if the local government is involved in a possible competence case, then it must be disclosed.
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Criticized because she got a boyfriend
