A few days ago, the annual report of the "Sofia Team" on the work of the Sofia Municipality in 2024 was presented. It was prepared by 43 experts and covers 21 areas of the municipality's work. Emi Baruh spoke with the head of the "Sofia Team" arch. Lyubomir Georgiev.
Sofia is a city of millions that breathes and functions as a living organism that both grows and ages. The "Sofia Team" subjected this organism to a detailed review in order to identify the city's problems. Can we point out one main “disease” that the capital suffers from?
Lyubomir Georgiev: If we accept this symbolism, the diagnosis would be - poor metabolism. That is, the metabolism in the system is poor, sometimes it blocks. And even if the left hand makes meaningful actions, the right one can pull in a completely different direction, not to mention the legs, which do not know where the hands are pointing. This aspect of coordination, of teamwork between the different departments - from the level of deputy mayors to the level of experts - is either completely absent or is much below the required quality.
How would you rate the “diseases” of the city - which ones are chronic, which ones are malignant, which ones are seasonal like the flu?
Lyubomir Georgiev: In Sofia, there is everything - there are also chronic diseases, which means structural deficits accumulated over the years in areas such as healthcare, territorial planning, social activities, where there is a shortage not only of resources, but also of managerial vision. This does not happen with a project here - a project there, but with things that lead to the healthy functioning of this part of the organism. There are also those that are related to “poor nutrition”, with the way in which the “municipal organism” is loaded with human resources. I think that for some of the activities there are very high-quality and capable people, for others - not. There are people who are not there to create a productive environment and progress in their field. There are also people who are some kind of vague legacy, who were even a symbol of the old government, of the old approaches with which it was declared that it was over.
You talk about continuity between the old and new government of Sofia. How did it happen?
Lyubomir Georgiev: I assess continuity as a movement by inertia. This also has its good sides for quite a few things, namely to continue meaningful initiatives. At the same time, I notice a desire for some quick victories, quick proof of ability, which, however, are not well thought out, do not fit into a more comprehensive picture. Sometimes they are successful, sometimes they are not.
Lack of coordination, the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing, etc. This picture is not very optimistic.
Lyubomir Georgiev: I am an optimistic person. There is a chance - if the municipal leadership pulls itself together and works a little more orderly and structured in the remaining two and a half years - to boast of more significant victories at the end of the term. Nowadays, it depends on how you present things, what packaging you put on them, what marketing you do around them.
What do you think is the most important thing that needs to be done so that we feel at the end of the term that there is a change?
Lyubomir Georgiev: I would say - attitude. It is difficult for one to rank the entire spectrum of sectoral tasks in order of importance - whether transport should come first, whether redevelopment should come first, whether kindergartens or landscaping... They are all important and must be worked on. But for me, the qualitative difference would come from the city government's attitude towards publicity, which means from the way it shows and tells its actions to the world. At the moment, such a thing does not exist. If you intend to do something - either for Vitosha or for waste - you announce it and tell it in steps. This stage will last two months, the next - three months, that one - five years. It depends on certain institutions, we will take the following steps, so many people will be involved. This is planning the work. At the moment there is no visibility, because there is no internal organization of the processes themselves that would allow people to say: Ah, okay! So the garbage collection or the sidewalk tiles will not be fixed in this first year, but in three years. That way they will see the process, the steps...
The former mayor of the “Slatina” district, Georgi Iliev, regularly posted on Facebook a summary of what his team had done - photos, explanations of what had been done, reports.
Lyubomir Georgiev: Many of the district mayors say what they are doing on Facebook, and that is positive, but it is an afterthought. I am talking about you saying what you are planning, how you are planning to achieve it, what the stages are. And then all the public irritation that arises will decrease after you have written where the risks are. This is one aspect - communication, publicity, attitude. The other aspect is that you, as a manager, are not in some closed, inaccessible environment in which you rely only on the administration, your closest people and the municipal budget as a tool.
Sofia is a place with a huge resource that is outside the municipality - people who want to do things, who can do things, financial resources, material resources. The most far-sighted policy of a municipal leadership is to coordinate this resource, to channel it. To inspire, to build on, to support. To make it so that not only the municipal budget works for common goals, but also a number of other factors.
However, how do people who are fiercely opposed to each other unite?
Lyubomir Georgiev: Through specific topics and through very good moderation. We have done this over the years. And we are currently doing it with the “Sofia Team”. I can give examples with neighborhood cases that are sensitive topics such as parking and landscaping, with the mineral baths in Knyazhevo or playgrounds. There are people who don't even want to hear children playing in front of their block because they make a lot of noise. In the urban environment, there are always conflicting moods, intentions, desires. But it is possible to find consensus. We manage to gather these opinions at one table and reach agreement. This includes a respectful attitude towards the participants and a long process - you just have to talk to these people, tell stories, show and be open to the end result. It is not necessarily what you stated at the beginning, you are there, not to sell them something, but to understand, to learn and together with them to create a plan for this garden, for this street, for this neighborhood. This is achievable - we are not the only ones in the world who do it. This is the sustainable approach in which you can engage a significant part of society. There are 150 neighborhood groups in Sofia that are fighting for different things - just being able to communicate with them is quite a success.
Residents are fixated on the city's everyday problems. What do guests of Sofia see? What do they say about us?
Lyubomir Georgiev: First of all, it depends a lot on the season in which they come. They will see a city that - not so much thanks to the municipality, is rich in events, quite diverse. There are many things happening here - in the sphere of culture, entrepreneurship, urban activism, technology. There are thousands of people, some of whom create a world-class product, but they exist in a parallel reality from the municipal government. And what is important for good city management is to try to work with these people, to achieve another level of communication and interaction.
How does a city rich in events advertise itself? What is its most attractive characteristic?
Lyubomir Georgiev: If we had to make a brand strategy, I would start with mineral waters. This makes the city different from other large cities with similar characteristics. As well as the proximity to the mountain. Not only Vitosha, but also Plana, Lyulin, Stara Planina. These natural resources can be used not only for marketing, but also for the quality of life of the citizens.
You mention two priceless treasures that nature has given to the city and that the people of the city have totally neglected!
Lyubomir Georgiev: That's right. But I will say again that I am somewhat optimistic. Regarding mineral waters - Deputy Mayor Nikola Barbutov, whose portfolio is the topic, is very constructive and realizes that the municipality needs the expertise and capacity that exist outside the municipality.
It would be a great success if the municipality manages to create an organizational and business plan for how it wants to manage this resource. How will the mineral baths work - not only the central mineral bath, but all of them, because it is a plus if you can combine them as a service, and also because the water has different characteristics in different places - from temperature to composition. This could be a very rich experience. Whatever the access regime, how much will it cost, how will it be maintained, what part of the water goes to the bathrooms, what part to the fountains, what will be the financial return…
Isn't this really about money?
Lyubomir Georgiev: Money is not a problem - especially for the initial stage of research. You need a managerial vision and managerial will.
A million and a half people live in Sofia. Do they have a “vision" for the management of the city? Is their opinion heard?
Lyubomir Georgiev: Many people have chosen Sofia because of the opportunities that the big city offers, but without realizing what it represents as a whole organism. We had a campaign some time ago: “Realize that you chose Sofia!“. But realizing it will not be easy if you do not have a partner on the other side who can put you in the position of a person on whom you depend. People will take an active attitude towards the city's problems if they know that their action has an effect. If they know that something depends on them.
This can be achieved if, for example, real citizen budgets are introduced, if people have the opportunity to vote on how to distribute part of the money in their neighborhood. With this money, what do we want first - to fix the sidewalks or bus stops. These are processes that are practiced around the world in completely different cultural contexts - from Taiwan to Iceland - and it is absolutely possible to achieve citizen participation so that they become empathetic to the problems and participate in the decisions. Not everything is about money.
People from my generation, who for decades tried to participate in decisions, reacted, protested, argued, insisted, proposed, without seeing a result, got tired.
Lyubomir Georgiev: When you are alone, you get tired more easily, when you are in a team, you get tired more difficult. And it has more effect. I am an optimist because we - me and my like-minded people, do not want to accept the lack of progress, the lack of reforms, the lack of quality. I also see many other people who are not ready to wave their hands and say “That's it!”. That's why I am an optimist.
Author: Emi Baruch