“The decision for Sofia is clear and we proposed it back in 2019 - the municipality should clean and remove the garbage. This is the only way for Sofia residents' money not to flow into other people's pockets.“ This was stated by the MP from “BSP-UNITED LEFT” Atanas Atanasov at a briefing in the National Assembly with MPs and Sofia municipal councilors from the left.
He recalled the warning of the left during the election campaign that the capital would be buried in garbage if the garbage collection concessions were not stopped. “Then the PP-DB laughed at us, but now we all see it on the street and it's not funny anymore“, added Atanasov.
According to him, in recent days we have witnessed cheap PR actions. “We see how deputies transport garbage from one neighborhood to another, but they helpfully overlook that the garbage collection there is carried out by the same concessionaire and he receives money for it. This is not a solution“, noted the deputy.
“What kind of fighter against the mafia are you if you extend the contracts of these companies, which you say you are dissatisfied with and do not do their job, by 6 months and give them tens of millions more?“, asked the chairman of BSP-Sofia and the group of advisors “BSP for Bulgaria“ in the Sofia Municipal Council Ivan Takov.
He recalled that the left in the SOS has submitted reports twice - in 2019 and 2023 - for a municipal enterprise to clean all of Sofia. “They were received with ridicule by those who now talk about how we need to strengthen the capacity of the municipal company. Did we have to get this far - for the capital to be buried with garbage and to vote today for 9 million for the purchase of equipment in a crisis situation?“, Takov emphasized.
“In 2 months, the 6-month extensions of the contracts for another 18 districts expire. What will happen then?“, the Sofia municipal councilor also asked, adding that the left's inquiry about the municipality's readiness for snow removal in a few months also remained unanswered.
Ivan Takov emphasized that by law the mayor is fully responsible for waste management in Sofia. “The procedure for a new public procurement was only started in March, when the contracts had already expired, despite our calls from years ago. And it was done in a way that there were no maximum prices, what do you expect to happen?“, the socialist also pointed out.
Takov also drew attention to the fact that municipal councilors were not allowed to see the public procurement documentation, which, in his words, raises additional doubts.