2024
In July 2024, the Sofia Municipal Council voted to change the management of six major municipal companies, which have an annual total turnover of over 3 billion leva. The municipal councilors adopted a report announcing a public election for members of the boards of directors and supervisory boards of the municipal commercial companies "Center for Urban Mobility", "Capital Electric Transport", "Capital Autotransport", "Metropolitan", "Toplofikatsiya Sofia" and "Sofinvest". And all this, until the public election is announced, and the report determines 26 new names in the management of the six companies.
However, the councilors then voted for Eng. Stoyan Bratoev, the current executive director of "Metropolitan", to remain on the Board of Directors of "Metropolitan", where it can be decided whether he should be re-appointed as head of the company. "For" 31 municipal councilors voted, "against" - 29, "abstained" there was no one. The report was adopted with the votes of the groups of GERB-SDF, BSP, "There is such a people", Blagovest Georgiev, who became independent after being excluded from the group of "We continue the change - Democratic Bulgaria" ("Save Sofia"), Carlos Contrera from VMRO and the two independent advisors - Sevdelina Petrova and Krasimir Galabov, who were expelled from "Vazrazhdane".
February 17, 2025
A clip appeared in the media showing how you can break into a national security facility with a key for 12 leva. All this became clear after a TikTok user posted a clip of how he entered the cab of a driver in the Sofia metro with the key in question, which is universal.
Questions immediately poured in to the Sofia metro whether this was a breach in the metro's security or not. After all, about 340 thousand passengers use the metro every day.
The metro initially refused to comment, as did the National Security Agency. It actually turned out that anyone can get the universal key in question - for only 12 leva by ordering online.
The Sofia Metropolitan still clarified that the metro is a national security object and would not provide details, but assured that access to the driver's cabin cannot cause an accident, and the locks in question cannot be changed because they provide easy access during evacuation.
July 2024 - thwarted “assassination“ according to Mayor Terziev
After the representatives of GERB, BSP and ITN in the Sofia Municipal Council initially voted in three committees to dismiss the head of the Sofia Metro, Eng. Stoyan Bratoev, in the decisive vote the next day they changed their vote and left him on the board of directors of "Metropolitan". This also happened after Mayor Vasil Terziev reacted sharply against Bratoev's removal. Terziev commented that Bratoev's removal was an "assassination against Sofia residents" and that GERB and BSP want to take the head of the person who has the greatest merit in Sofia having a metro.
After that, Boris Bonev from "Save Sofia" predicted that after Terziev's statement, GERB and BSP had agreed to keep Bratoev in place so as not to scandalize the city's residents. He admitted that the leader of BSP-Sofia and municipal councilor Ivan Takov would take on the task of saying that Bratoev is an exceptional expert and that the BSP group does not agree with his removal, even though it voted "for" yesterday. Minutes later, Takov announced that the BSP would propose that Bratoev continue as a member of the Board of Directors of "Metropolitan". The request was made by Vanya Grigorova, who proposed that he remain an executive director. Throughout the entire debate, GERB did not take the floor and did not comment on the proposed reshuffles in six municipal companies, although they were constantly accused of being at the bottom of them.
With the exception of Bratoev, the entire previous management team of "Metropolitan" was replaced. It was reported about the new members - Nikolay Naydenov is a former Deputy Minister of Transport between 2022-23 and that he worked at NRIC, "Stolichne Autotransit" and was a director of directorates in various state structures. Petko Petkov has a long experience in BDZ. Konstantin Azov also has a long career in the transport sector. He was most recently a director at BDZ. In 2022 to 2023 works in the Ministry of Electronic Governance. He has also held management positions in other state-owned companies such as the Port of Varna, Bulgarian Posts, Plovdiv Airport, Information Services. Dilyana Ivanova is a lawyer and manager of a law firm. From 2008 to 2022 she was a member of the board of the municipal "Pazari Zapad".
February 2025 – or what has changed in 7-8 months
The topic of the future of Eng. Stoyan Bratoev is being discussed again in the Sofia Municipality and will be on the agenda of the Municipal Council very soon. This was learned by FACTI from its own sources. So what has changed in the past 7-8 months. This is exactly the question that the municipality will most likely answer soon? And everything will most likely be based on established violations, starting with safety - with the key in question for 12 leva, going through delayed deliveries of spare parts for the rolling stock, the lack of full funds for the maintenance of the already built metro stations, poor maintenance of the company's building stock. There have also been numerous acts and protocols made under the 2020 Ministry of Interior law, with unfulfilled prescriptions such as - lack of panic buttons, lack of automatic platform doors, analog video surveillance system, lack of video surveillance in vulnerable areas, lack of control and admission of outsiders to metro trains and work premises, etc. Acts have also been drawn up by the Directorate General of Fire Safety and Population Protection, which have not been implemented over the years, and fines have been paid by the company for - lack of up-to-date evacuation plans, old and unserviced equipment, problems with the fire alarm system, lack of sufficient personnel, lack of maintenance of taps and hoses, etc. There are also unfulfilled decisions of the Board of Directors, there is a delay in uploading procedures under the Public Procurement Act, orders under the Labor Code have not been signed, etc.
And since everything described above is not from the last 7-8 months, but has been known since 2020, the question is what has changed that now the topic will be raised again in the Municipal Council. All this was clear by July 2024... In seven months, things have clearly turned 180 degrees - from an “assassination against Sofia residents“ (words of Mayor Terziev), to steps towards retirement.
It remains to be seen how the municipal officials in the capital will act…