Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev came to the meeting of the Sofia Municipal Council (SOS) directly from the airport after his visit to Vietnam. He expressed his disappointment with the disputes that broke out and emphasized that there is a lack of constructive dialogue.
We remind you that the GERB-SDS group showered the mayor and his team with reproaches and announced that they would not participate in the meetings without a direct dialogue with Terziev. After a series of attacks on the absence of the mayor and mutual accusations between the ruling party and the opposition for blocking the work of the SOS, the viewing of the report on the updating of Sofia's budget, set on the agenda, was postponed.
"I am happy about the great desire of my colleagues to see me, but it saddens me that this "love", which they demonstrate towards me, is not manifested in their attitude towards the city," Terziev said. In connection with the behavior of the representatives of GERB-SDS, he pointed out that the actions of some of the municipal councilors harm the city and expressed the hope that they will realize this.
According to him, topics such as kindergartens, crèches and social services continue to be neglected.
The mayor also raised the issue of the lack of dialogue regarding the report on the provision of BGN 15 million for the transport companies in the city. He criticized the approach of the opposition, which insists on the allocation of these funds without clarity on where they will come from.
Deputy Mayor for Finance Ivan Vasilev noted that he participated in the committee meetings in November, when he submitted the report on the budget update and held meetings with the groups of GERB and BSP, which stated that they would not support it . "They don't have the courage to say why they don't support this report because they have no arguments. They really don't love Sofia," he declared.
Before the resumption of the session of the SOS, which was interrupted for a break, the municipal councilors from PP-DB-Spassi Sofia presented information about the steps they have taken in the fields of health care and urban transport. They pointed out that the problems were inherited from the previous administration.
Saad Alwani pointed out that the coalition found the municipal hospitals in a critical condition. After the lost battle to keep the Fourth City Hospital, it was decided to merge it with the Second City Hospital. A health commission voted a financial injection for all municipal hospitals and DCCs, with the aim of introducing new prevention and screening programs.
Andrei Zografski presented the plans for improvement in urban transport, including improvement of working conditions for employees in motor transport and electric transport. He announced that transportation around the Central Station will be reorganized to facilitate movement in this busy area.
Simeon Stavrev, on the other hand, warns of serious problems with non-transparent public procurement in transport companies. He gave examples of overpriced contracts for gas and compressors, which, according to him, damaged the municipal budget by millions of BGN.