“The water problem has not been around since January 16, since this government came into power, but for more than 10-20 years. This sector was abandoned“, said the Minister of Environment and Water Manol Genov in “Why, Mr. Minister“ on bTV.
“The European funds they are giving us are funds for the purification and disposal of wastewater. Bulgaria's achievement is that, in parallel with construction, rehabilitation and the construction of treatment plants, it is also building a water supply network,“ Genov pointed out.
“All governments after the changes do not pay attention at all to what we are alarming scientists about“, said the geologist.
He explained that the other source of income is the own funds of the water supply companies, which, however, are in a poor financial situation.
Regarding the resignations of directors of water supply companies due to the water shortage in the country, Manol Genov said that “sacrifice“ is not the best option for saving the situation and things are actually much more complicated.
“Each water supply company defends a 5-year business plan. It is approved by the EWRC and by each municipal council. Unfortunately, in recent years Bulgaria has fallen into this climatic zone of Bulgaria, where rainfall is extremely low. Water supply is a multifunctional result of certain actions and conditions“, explained the Minister of Environment.
According to him, during the socialist era, Bulgaria invested enough in the construction of dams and managed to do it on its own.
“This problem will not be solved overnight and has been accumulating over the years. Currently, there is enough political will on the part of the government to solve it“, said Manol Genov.
According to him, the National Water Board, which was created by the Council of Ministers, will include not only politicians, but also experts who are familiar with the problems of water scarcity. All owners of the water supply infrastructure will also participate in it.
His task will be to adapt water use to climate change, to find financing and technical resources for people who suffer from the water regime, Genov explained.
He will also propose legislative changes in the planning of new water pipelines.
The Minister of Environment also commented on Delyan Peevski's letter to the Prime Minister, as well as Rosen Zhelyazkov's response to the leader of “DPS-New Beginning“.
“The Prime Minister's reaction is quite adequate. I do not accept the letter as an ultimatum, but as an invitation to do our job. This is what opposition MPs do regularly through various parliamentary mechanisms," commented Manol Genov.
He stated that Peevski has not personally called him and they have not spoken on the phone.
"I don't even have his phone number. He hasn't given me any tasks," the Minister of Environment was categorical.
"The illegal landfills appeared when the legal ones appeared. In the bTV campaign "Let's Clean Bulgaria Together" we collected so much waste. I'm not happy that we collected so much, I would be happy if we collected less. This campaign should be motivating enough for Bulgarian citizens. To make them realize what separate waste collection costs," said Manol Genov.
According to him, the situation with garbage and landfills has been getting worse in recent years in terms of attitude. The Ministry of Environment and Water is constantly sanctioning, he said.
Where is the black panther?
„I deeply doubt that there is such a panther, because so far we have only seen photos. At one time it went to Romania, decided to return. We have approached this problem very responsibly“, commented the Minister of Environment.
„This is an invasive species, we protect local species. Whether hunters can shoot or not - is not the best solution, but is this black panther a risk, is it a panther? The most unfortunate thing would be for it to be shot. We put a lot of effort into it and, on the recommendations of a South African professor from an NGO, he gave us a drawing of a trap for hunting animals. It has already been made and is located in the Central Balkans. We will set it if there is a signal of the animal's presence“, explained Manol Genov.