Roads are killing us! Wrong projects. Lack of asphalt. Lack of signs and markings. Lack of maintenance. And at the same time - countless “road experts” who appear on television, but do not have any expertise.
This was warned by the Road Safety Institute.
A study by the Road Safety Institute shows that since the beginning of the year, 34 people have been presented as road experts in the national media. But none of them is a road engineer, nor does they have real expertise in the design, safety or maintenance of road infrastructure.
So what are these “experts”?
• Lobbyists of political interests, posing as “independent voices”, while in fact serving party positions.
• Lobbyists of construction companies, who defend vicious models of road construction and unaccountable spending of public funds.
• Lobbyists of lawyer circles, using road accidents for personal gain and influence.
• Lobbyists of their own businesses and NGOs, who have no real participation in improving the system, but draw dividends from their “expert” status.
This is not expertise – this is political lobbying under the guise of competence.
Why is there no law on lobbying?
Lobbying is not a crime when it is legally regulated. In normal countries, it is a tool for transparency – you know who protects what interest and why. But in Bulgaria the word “lobbying” is perceived entirely negatively – and not by chance: it has become a synonym for behind the scenes, corruption and serving private interests at the expense of society. Over the years, drafts for a law on lobbying have been submitted many times – by the UDF, BSP, GERB and other parties. None of them has been adopted.Why? Because there is no political will for transparency. Because such a law would mean:
• Lobbyist registers,
• Traceable connections between politicians and economic players,
• Accountability of who influences decisions on public procurement and road projects.
This is exactly what the government does not want.