The Institute for Road Safety demanded the resignation of the director of the State Agency for Road Safety, Malina Krumova.
The organization's reasons state that for six years the agency has not fulfilled its main function - to be a coordinating and leading body for road safety, and in cases such as the accident with 12-year-old Siyana, it does not take responsibility, but transfers it to other institutions.
The declaration was sent to Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and was signed by 14 non-governmental organizations.
Here is the entire declaration:
DEAR MINISTER-PRESIDENT,
On 27 You probably made a clear call - institutions to show results. And you gave a deadline - one month. Alas, there is no result, and there will be none soon. Road safety, which is an exclusively expert issue, has become a terrain for corruption, political ambitions and hiding institutional and personnel weakness.
Established at the insistence of the civil sector, the State Agency for Road Safety was supposed to set a direction, coordinate efforts, build trust and a common national strategy. Its key function is to inform the Prime Minister about the shortcomings in the various departments and improve the interaction between them. Six years later, the reality is different:
• Lack of dialogue and interaction with the non-governmental sector;
• There is no comprehensive state policy on sunken safety
• There are no clearly defined goals around which everyone can unite;
• Institutions continue to work not in sync, but piecemeal;
• Measures are taken only when tragedy occurs;
• Bulgaria continues to be in first place in the EU in terms of deaths in accidents per capita.
Therefore, we, representatives of non-governmental organizations with a long-standing active role in the field of road safety, despite our differences, unite and demand the immediate resignation of the Chairman of the Bulgarian Road Safety Agency - Ms. Malina Krumova.
Our reasons:
• For six years now, the agency has not fulfilled its main function - to be a coordinating and leading body.
• There is no current national assessment of the risk of road accidents, which makes any policy ineffective.
• In moments of crisis, the agency transfers responsibility and replaces the truth (the case of Siyana is emblematic).
• The society does not know this institution, does not trust it and does not follow it.
• The agency does not lead, does not inspire and does not change.
• There is a lack of expertise, vision and leadership - all qualities that the state urgently needs in the fight against the war on the roads.
Mr. Prime Minister,
Road safety is a cause that requires unity - between the state, institutions and civil society. Instead of being a bridge between all of us, the State Road Safety Agency has become a wall behind which responsible individuals and administrations hide, whose irresponsibility and negligence are the cause of yet another fatal accident.
Road safety requires capacity, bold decisions and strong leaders. Ms. Krumova has proven that she does not have the will to fulfill the position entrusted to her with content and meaning. On the contrary, instead of leading and impoverishing, she stagnates and degrades. Six years is too much time in which to learn from your mistakes, to correct yourself, to show a vision, if you have one, and to produce results.
We believe that only together and united will the state and civil society deal with death on our roads. But this can only happen when a person with trust, competence and moral authority is at the helm.
This declaration is supported by the following 14 non-governmental organizations:
➢ Nikolay Popov-father of Siyana
➢ European Center for Transport Policies
➢ Institute for Road Safety
➢ Association „Veloevolution“
➢ Association „Autotechnical Experts in Road Safety“
➢ National Association of Points for Periodic Vehicle Inspections
➢ Bulgarian Driving Instructor Union
➢ Association of Carriers in Europe
➢ Association „Association of Road Help-Bulgaria“
➢ Association “We want justice and safety on the road“
➢ Association “Causa Severozapad“
➢ Association “Sofia today and tomorrow“
➢ Association “Initiative for development and change of the municipality of Boychinovtsi“
➢ Association for the qualification of motorists in Bulgaria /AKAB/
Road safety in Bulgaria can no longer be held hostage to inaction. Six years of patience have cost too much. This is not about personal assessments - it is about lives saved or lost. It is time for a decision that will lead to change. And it is only in your hands.
When inaction kills - silence becomes complicity!