In order to overcome the country's fiscal problems, one cannot simply say that there is a deficit, reforms must be made - the country must be modernized, inefficient and corrupt spending must be limited. That is precisely why we submitted nine bills that represent our ideas for reforms. This was told to journalists on the sidelines of the parliament by the deputy chairman of the PG of "Democratic Bulgaria" Bozhidar Bozhanov, Novini.bg reported.
A few examples – pensioners in the Ministry of Interior to be released in stages, the TELK system to be subjected to a risk assessment, so that the fake TELKs, including the subsequent fake documents of personal assistants, through which billions of the budget flow, can be reviewed. Tenders for private hospitals have already been introduced, and there should also be centralized competitions for civil servants. We cannot simply say - we will lay off some people, we must ensure that civil servants are maximally prepared, have computer skills, speak languages, know what they are there for, and not be party ladybugs. Also, reducing bonuses in the administration and many other such measures that are related to modernization, so that Bulgaria takes a few steps forward, so that we do not just talk about how to save some money, but that this saving is a function of the fact that we are changing the country, said Bozanov.
In response to a question whether these proposals should be included in the new budget or separately in the legislation, he pointed out: "This is a matter of legal technique. We have introduced them as separate bills - if time does not allow, some of them are also applicable to the Budget Law. Another important measure is that civil servants should gradually start paying social security contributions. We have planned for them to pay 2% of their insurance premiums this year. In the private sector, people pay about 40%.
According to him, the real implementation of most of these measures can begin immediately.
The final net effect of them can be calculated by the Ministry of Finance, which has all the data, but this is certainly the direction that will not only reduce spending now, but will allow us to move towards a more balanced budget, not deficits, said the deputy chairman of the PG of "Democratic Bulgaria".
Asked for comment on the detention of the wanted former governor of the Bulgarian Development Bank Stoyan Mavrodiev in Belgrade, he noted: "Obviously very late. He has been wanted since 2024. We have been reporting even before he was wanted, when he was loyal to the "Peevski-Borisov" model. It is right that he was detained, I hope that the law will be applied to him with all its severity".
In connection with yesterday's appointment of Evgeni Simeonov as a special manager of "Lukoil" in place of Rumen Spetsov, Bozhidar Bozhanov said: "It is absolutely true that we can have criticisms of Rumen Spetsov, the question is that the person they appointed as a special manager does not seem to have the necessary competencies and experience. He is the son of a former leader of the MRF list. In his place in the agency (the State Agency for Metrological and Technical Supervision – editor's note) a former deputy from GERB is being appointed. The main question is not who was where and what he did, but what is the relevant experience. This person does not appear to have the relevant experience to handle refinery management.