Carlos Contrera to FACTI: This is the mandate of absurdities in Sofia Municipality

Cleanliness, budget plan, Sofia Municipality... Many millions. What is happening in the Sofia Municipal Council... Carlos Contrera, a municipal councilor from VMRO, speaks to FACTI.

- Mr. Contrera, it never ceases to be interesting in the Sofia Municipal Council. You talk about interest groups, and they send you to prison, because that's where you belong. Is this how Sofia is governed?
- The leader of “Vazrazhdane“ in Sofia - Deyan Nikolov, has finally come out of his waking coma. The interesting thing is that he attacks me, not PP-DB-Spasi Sofia, who are a political enemy of “Vazrazhdane“, if we follow Kostadin Kostadinov's logic. Deyan Nikolov has not said a single word of criticism about PP-DB-SS, about the administration. This means that “Vazrazhdane“ in Sofia serves PP-DB-SS and attacks the opposition. VMRO is the only consistent opposition in the SOS of PP-DB-SS. All the others vote on one or another key issue with Boris Bonev's people. I see that the leader of “Vazrazhdane“ in Sofia is visibly nervous because he cannot explain how on key issues he is a crutch for PP, DB and “Spasi Sofia“. For example, for these 302 million leva for the cleanliness of Sofia. “Vazrazhdane“ bears joint and several responsibility for the dirt in Sofia, because they uncritically supported the PP-DB-SS proposal, and the streets are muddy and dirty, the garbage is not thrown away, etc. The money will again go to private companies - the cleaners, no matter what Deyan Nikolov explains. Let him explain to his voters how and why he became a crutch for PP and DB, let him bear his responsibility and say why Sofia is dirty, since he is part of the majority of the garbage. We are waiting for answers.

- What and who are the lobbyists in SOS?
- SOS is fragmented, because each political force is trying to impose its own agenda. This is the mandate of the absurdities in the Sofia Municipality. We see how mayors of “Save Sofia“ submit reports on construction, while they were supposed to fight against construction. We see how mayors of “Democratic Bulgaria“ submit reports on development, and they were supposed to fight against overdevelopment (for example, the mayors of “Ovcha Kupel“ and “Lozenets“). They were supposed to hold a competition for a chief architect - a year and a half later, nothing. We saw a report by the “Traffic Management and Analysis“ directorate, and it says how municipal councilors from “Save Sofia“ went to lobby for this and that, and this is one picture of the whole picture. How were the directors of the Sofia Inspectorate, of the garbage plant, appointed? Hidden, non-transparent. Why?

- How are “Vazrazhdane“ interfering with the schemes that have been going on for years by GERB?
- What are these schemes specifically? Because in the case of garbage, "Vazrazhdane" replaced GERB's votes. If the money for garbage is a GERB scheme, if we use the rhetoric of "Vazrazhdane", why did "Vazrazhdane" vote for this scheme without a single proposal and without anything significant having changed in terms of cleanliness? Political rhetoric is a good thing, but the people said "don't listen to what I say, but watch what I do!". What was the price for "Vazrazhdane" to support PP-DB-SS? I am not the one who goes to the office of the chairman of the SOS to negotiate. I do not step into this office because VMRO is a serious opposition to the PP-DB-SS government. And what is the leader of "Vazrazhdane" doing there, what is he negotiating about? Why don't I hear Deyan Nikolov's criticism of Bonev, PP and DB? Instead, he attacks VMRO - the only opposition to Bonev and Terziev? Questions, right?

- There were many debates about the budget plan for cleanliness, and there we are talking about millions. What happened?
- It happened that PP-DB-SS and “Vazrazhdane“ adopted the budget for cleanliness of Sofia for 2025 to be 302 million leva. Over 240 million leva of this money will go to the so-called cleaners, i.e. companies for garbage collection and disposal. However, we see that despite this money, Sofia is dirty, muddy, the neighborhoods are covered in garbage. The responsibility, political, managerial, lies with those who voted for this budget plan. I expect that in the summer and autumn of 2025 new cleaning contracts will be concluded, but at even higher prices. Is this the change? Is this the reform? And I will ask again - why did “Vazrazhdane“ support this madness brought in by Promyanata, DB and Boris Bonev?

- How long has the topic of creating a municipal enterprise for maintaining road markings been raised, so that we have markings on the streets that do not disappear after the first rain…
- With or without a municipal enterprise, if the municipality does not strengthen control over the quality of road markings, things will be the same. For me, the municipality should appoint at least 30 inspectors to rotate through the regions to check and sanction contractors for poor-quality markings. The proposed municipal enterprise is complete nonsense, another scheme by “Save Sofia“. Sofia has an area of 492 sq. km. How are you going to maintain the road markings of all of Sofia with 60 workers? It is obvious that they intend to use the enterprise to outsource to external companies. I ask another question - if the municipal enterprise works poorly and the municipality sanctions it, what is that? Money from one pocket to the other. It is ridiculous. It is interesting that on this issue too we see how “Vazrazhdane“ together with Boris Bonev, PP and DB are contributors. Very interesting. It is obvious that there is an agreement, joint actions between supposedly major political antagonists. What do "Vazrazhdane" and Boris Bonev have in common? In political terms, nothing in common, so what brings them together? What common interests? - Is serious resistance being formed in the SOS against the majority of GERB and BSP...
Neither GERB nor BSP together or separately have a majority in the SOS. The governing parties are PP-DB and Spasi Sofia - the largest group, the administration is also theirs. As we can see, in the votes, PP-DB-SS push through decisions with the votes of "Vazrazhdane". We have an undeclared Sofia coalition. And while Kostadin Kostadinov spits on Kiril Petkov in parliament, they govern together in Sofia. Paradox, but a fact. Let Kostadinov and Deyan Nikolov say what unites them with Bonev, DB, PP. Obviously it is not ideology. Then what is it?