Vasil Terziev: Being mayor is not my goal in itself. For me, being useful is the most important thing

“Being mayor is not my goal in itself. For me, being useful is the most important thing and knowing that I have really advanced the city's agenda.“ This was stated by Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev in an interview for the program “12+3“ on the Bulgarian National Radio. In response to a question about whether he would run for a second term, he stressed that his decision would depend on how well he had managed to fulfill his commitments to the people of Sofia.
Terziev indicated that until the end of his term, he would continue to work on the implementation of key infrastructure projects, the modernization of public transport, the development of the green system, improving the quality of waste collection and accelerating the work of the municipality.
“The only thing that matters is what you promised and what you fulfilled“, said the mayor. According to him, over the past eight or nine months, there has already been an acceleration of work and his ambition is for this pace to continue, along with the digitalization of the administration, greater transparency and citizen participation in the city's governance.
When asked directly about the failures in his administration, Terziev admitted that his team has made mistakes, but defended his understanding that they should be an occasion for learning and improvement.
“For me, failure is a mistake that you repeat constantly. Mistakes that we have made, we have made. We account for them and for me, making a mistake is part of improving,“ he said.
The mayor emphasized that he strives to build a culture in the administration in which mistakes are acknowledged and analyzed, instead of being concealed. According to him, the final assessment of the management should be based on the work done and the promises fulfilled.
Garbage collection: from overcoming the crisis to a higher quality of service
As one of the most difficult management issues, Terziev commented on the organization of garbage collection in Sofia. He admitted that there were long-term problems in certain areas, but emphasized that the municipality has consistently stabilized the service and is working to improve its quality.
“There is no longer a crisis. What we are working on is for this service to become increasingly better. Zone by zone we are managing to achieve it“, said the mayor.
Terziev recalled the four main goals with which the municipality began the changes in the system: increasing municipal capacity, attracting more competition, diverging the terms of contracts for individual zones and achieving a better price-quality ratio. According to him, this has allowed for the avoidance of costs of about 230 million euros, which would otherwise have been paid for a more expensive service without a guarantee of the necessary quality.
As an example of progress, he pointed to the areas of “Poduyane“, “Slatina“ and “Izgrev“, where after eight months of difficulties, garbage collection has stabilized in the last two months, and work on small neighborhood streets is catching up. The next goal is a tangible improvement in the service in other areas, including in the central part of the city - zones 1 and 7.
The mayor announced that a change in the waste regulation is also being prepared, which would introduce a better organization for the disposal of bulky waste. Among the measures discussed are determining permissible quantities, creating specialized sites and a system for collection by prior request and schedule.
According to Terziev, this is necessary to end the practices of accumulating old furniture, construction and packaging waste around containers. He also called on citizens to participate more actively in maintaining cleanliness, including through the proper use of separate collection containers.
The changes in the team are part of the drive for better results
In response to questions about the changes in the leadership of the Sofia Municipality, Terziev said that personnel decisions are a natural part of management and that not every change needs to be associated with a scandal, as we are used to in Bulgarian politics, where the replacement of a person is often perceived as a punishment or an attempt to extinguish a scandal.
“At any moment when something can be done better, it must be done better“, he emphasized.
The mayor pointed out that the new deputy mayor for transport is a person with many years of experience in the municipal system, who knows the teams and the work with the Municipal Council well. He assured that key transport projects are continuing, including preparations for the renewal of rolling stock, with deliveries of new vehicles expected next year.
Clean air remains a priority
At the beginning of the interview, Terziev also commented on the measures to improve air quality in Sofia. He pointed out that over the past three years, the number of days with exceedances of the norms has been decreasing, but the municipality must continue its efforts to limit pollution.
The mayor recalled the new program for 37 million euros, which will enable about 11,000 more households to replace their old heating appliances free of charge. Among the next measures discussed is the possibility of the low-emission zone for cars gradually switching to year-round operation.
“Air is the thing that unites absolutely all of us in this city - young, old, rich and poor”, said Terziev, emphasizing that decisions must be based on reliable measurements and real data.