Registered unemployed people in labor offices will be included in activities for preliminary cleaning of ravines in order to prevent floods and other disasters. This was announced by the Minister of Labor and Social Policy in resignation Borislav Gutsanov. According to him, the measure will simultaneously reduce unemployment and support municipalities, and people with disabilities will also have the opportunity to participate.
The initiative will be implemented under the "Employment without Barriers" program, which has a budget of 40 million euros and will start in less than a month. The payment for employees will be the amount of the minimum wage, and for people with higher education – minimum wage plus 50%, Gutsanov specified.
The idea for the program arose after the disaster in the Elenite resort, explained Donka Mihaylova, mayor of Troyan and deputy chairwoman of the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria. She emphasized that cleaning riverbeds is a serious problem, since many ravines are not reflected in the cadastral maps, and the Forestry Act imposes restrictions on the removal of vegetation.
With the program, we hope that the municipalities will create the prerequisites for these ravines, which traditionally cause problems, to be cleaned, commented Mihaylova. According to her, each municipality will determine which areas need cleaning.
Retired Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policy Natalia Efremova announced that financing of the activities will be possible for a period of up to two years. The program will be administered by the Employment Agency, with municipalities applying directly to it. In addition to cleaning, afforestation activities on municipal land will also be possible.