Municipal councilor Boris Bonev from PP-DB-Save Sofia spoke a few days ago about the potential risk of the residents of Sofia being left without heating and hot water at Christmas time. How reasonable is this… Carlos Contrera, a municipal councilor from VMRO, spoke to FAKTI.
- Mr. Contrera, is there a risk that Sofia will be without heating and hot water before the holidays. He diligently talked about problems of "Heating" – Sofia?
- In this particular case, I think it is speculation on the part of PP-DB-“Save Sofia”. Accidents have always been and always will be. Rather, Bonev and company are trying to develop the thesis that there will be no heating and hot water anywhere for Christmas... It's absurd. The problems of "Heating-Sofia" have been for decades. Shall I remind you how 15 years ago the state slapped the municipality with 500 million? BGN obligations? PP-DB-Save Sofia plays with people's fears, because in one year they can show nothing but failures.
- How can the Metropolitan Municipal Council intervene?
- With a clear political decision on what to do with “Heating” - Sofia. There is a technical audit report by international consultants that the SOS commissioned and accepted last term. There, it is better described what and what needs to be reorganized, reconstructed and changed. But it costs billions. Under the current legal framework, I don't see where they will be attracted. Under this regulatory framework, an option is for the state to take ownership using the debt-for-property method. This is the position of VMRO. Only in this way can one get out of the trap of KEVR and the grip of “Bulgargaz”, because they are legally draining “Toplofication– Sofia“...
- "Bulgargaz" lifted the lien imposed on the account of "Toplofikatsia Sofia". What does this entail?
- Why was this seizure imposed? What exactly made “Bulgargaz” to enforce this lien? As if the situation is new, when in fact it has been like this for years. I will say again - let the state take it, because the debts of “Heating“ - Sofia are a function of at least two decades of policy of the rulers. I remind you again - 15 years ago, the state transferred the “Heating” to the municipality. with 500 million BGN debt.
- There was a meeting with the Minister of Energy, where it became clear that the real "Heating" is in a very poor financial condition and, according to the repayment schedule, cannot do so in the foreseeable future. Why?
- Some ruthless meetings have been going on for years. Coffees are drunk, laquerdies are stretched, then briefings, overflowing from empty to empty. First - under this regulatory framework “Heating“ - Sofia is a hostage because she works at a planned loss. Second - the debt is a function of state policy through "Bulgargaz", the payment of carbon quotas (tens of millions of BGN per year). Third - need for technological renewal, construction of more cogeneration plants, connection of separate heat transfer circuits. However, who would make an investment loan with these debts? So the answer lies where the problem is - the state. That is why we at VMRO believe that the state should enter as the owner, of course, through the debt-for-property method.
- The heating company's debt to "Bulgargaz" is BGN 850,000,000, and to BEH - BGN 800,000,000. We are talking about over 1,600,000,000 BGN liabilities. How old will they be by spring?
- 500 million BGN are a legacy of state government, the other is a combination of planned wastage and expensive natural gas. I expect a significant increase in natural gas prices, so perhaps another 100 million will be generated. BGN new debt to “Bulgargaz”. Let's see the income from the sale of electricity, there I expect growth both in terms of quantity and income. That won't solve the problem. The network is amortized, obsolete in entire sections, this leads to accidents and losses, some of the boilers for me have long been due for replacement, but all this costs hundreds of millions of BGN investments. It could be considered that the state would release them, let's say one part through BEH, another through BBR against future electricity revenues, but this is only an idea. There is no political will for this to happen. An official minister cannot make such a decision, it must go through the Council of Ministers. I.e. regular management is needed to take on this task. If there is, will there be a will for it, a political will? With this insane parliament, I highly doubt it.
- The directors of the municipal companies changed 6 months ago. What did the new manuals do?
- 8 months ago, the executive director of “Toplofikatsia“ - Sofia left... It was imperative to renew the management, that is why we partially replaced the supervisory board, which elects the management board. An audit of the weld and the condition is currently underway. The new executive director is also preparing an update of the business plan. I don't expect miracles. In general, the replacement of leaderships with expired and expiring terms was imperative. You can see that checks and audits are currently underway by the new management, what has been found, we have adopted an investment program for urban transport, these are normal processes. We are surprised that PP-DB-Save Sofia wanted to keep the old guidelines. This leads me to think that behind the scenes there were contracts between some of the old managements and PP-DB-Save Sofia, there were clear promises. I expect that Mayor Terziev will finally issue an order for a representative of the administration in the selection committee, so that the competitions can start. The people of Sofia should know - the person Vasil Terziev is currently suspending the competitions by not appointing a representative of the administration. Thus, he blocks the competitions, he does not implement the decision of the municipal council. There is also a prosecutor's investigation into the case, but let's see what will come out.
- Do we dispose of garbage or corpses? A man's body was found on the grounds of the garbage plant a few days ago. What do you know about the case…
- As much as you. We, the municipal councilors, are kept in the dark about how the Metropolitan Waste Treatment Enterprise works, i.e. the garbage plant. Information from the ecology committee is being deliberately hidden, the efforts of the chairman of the committee, Mr. Krasir Galabov, to introduce accountability and transparency are being deliberately sabotaged. It is strange that almost a week after the discovery of a corpse in the garbage plant, there is no public information. How did he get there? Where and what did he die of? Is there violence? Why was the corpse only spotted on the tapes, seconds before it was run over? Many questions, no answers. The director of the plant behaves impudently. Let him tell why he was kicked out of Elin Pelin municipality years ago! For high professionalism? How come he's back as director of the junkyard with an express contest?