The garbage crisis in Sofia is yet to come. Maybe in about two months, when the contracts of almost all districts in Sofia expire.“ This is a surmountable problem. The question is whether anything is being done, because it was known that the contracts in “Lyulin“ and “Krasno Selo“ were also expiring. When the public procurements were opened with these large markups, the crisis actions did not start immediately. They waited for the contracts to expire and only then did they act - with a delay. Thus, valuable days were lost, in which the organization could have been made, as happened only in September, in order to somewhat control the situation. This was announced to Lili Marinkova in the studio “FACTI“ and the program “Conversation“ by Deyan Nikolov, municipal councilor from “Vazrazhdane“.
“In the municipality, a year and a half ago, we started discussing the potential problem with garbage and especially the participation of companies from Valka and Taki. And I have no problem stating directly what is happening in the municipality - there are people who obviously want to blackmail Sofia residents. The mayor has contributed to this with his inaction over the last year and a half. He seemed to expect that if he did not “pull the wolf by the tail“, he would get away with it. He would place a mega order for garbage removal in Sofia and thus solve the problem. Currently, the approach is very timid“, added the guest.
“There should have been a price ceiling in public procurements, so that it would not reach these 420 leva per ton. Once again, the Sofia Municipality is about to become enslaved to five-year contracts. The companies that apply are calculating what will happen, for them it is good that the contracts are for 5 years. But the contracts can easily be for 2+2 years. This would give more flexibility to the municipality, which will have the opportunity to assess the situation every two years and possibly extend them. These are small things that we comment on, but they did not happen. Now we are already on the verge of a major crisis. What has happened to these two large districts in the last two and a half months is actually just a warm-up for what is to come," Nikolov said.
„In the municipality, we voted 9 million leva to strengthen the municipal enterprise, but they cannot be implemented so quickly. Machines need to be purchased, staff trained. Apart from that, the funds are not enough for the other districts," the municipal councilor shared.
See more of the conversation in the VIDEO.