2024-02-13 10:13:59
There should be no new elections either for the Municipal Council or for the mayor. But we will wait for the court’s decision.
This was stated by the Mayor of Sofia, Vasil Terziev, to Nova TV.
I do not think anything, I cannot seize the work of the court, but we will comply with the decision. But it appears that if anyone is harmed, it is me, because my vote count would go up in one count. But this is not the focus of me and the team, we are struggling with Sofia’s daily problems and when the court’s decision comes, we will comply with it, added Terziev.
On the occasion of the SOS meeting on Thursday evening, at which the committees were voted on, Terziev described it as “an attempt to have one stop for everything we do”.
But you won’t hear me making excuses about how hard it is, that’s the facts at the end of the day, we work with the tools we have. I have said before that the mayor is neither a general without an army nor a voiceless letter, there are many things you can do and are within your powers, added Terziev.
Even if it is not easy for us, we still have tools, he answered how he will work without a majority in the SOS. And he explained that the mayor has a platform – when a good idea for the city is substantiated, and when it is laid down as a policy in the budget, the other side will have to explain why it is against it. Why would they say “no” to something that was present in their program – solving the problem with Vitosha, using mineral water, for kindergartens. Therefore, Terziev would rely on pressure through the media.
Transparency best cures such ailments, he explained. Therefore, he and the advisors of the PP-DB-SS would give publicity to all topics and problems.
Yes, some may become more difficult than I would like, but the end result will be positive because there will be more transparency in what the municipality is doing. This is something that is already happening thanks to all the dramas we have.
We work every day to change the model. The public can now see the results – and the way we presented the budget, everything we are doing in the area of digitalization to provide citizens with the services we talked about, they can see what we are doing, the accountability we are trying to enforce, commented the mayor .
One of the things that is very important and over which we will not have as much control as we would like under the current distribution is what will happen to municipal corporations. Terziev gave an example of this huge part of the municipal economy – CGM and others.
Asked whether he can make serious changes in the Central Committee of the People’s Republic of Moldova, where an audit has already begun without a serious majority behind him, Terziev answered: We can give publicity, look for problems, show what they are.
The distribution of who is responsible for what requires the City Council to drive the reform, because it appoints the supervisors of these companies, and they have a say in what happens in the company, the appointment of directors. And if we want a complete revision, it cannot be done without the desire of the SOS. And this will be the biggest test of where the interest clubs are, the economic majorities. So keep a close eye on what’s happening in the commercial companies, as many of the people in their oversights are running out of terms and new ones have to be elected, Terziev also said. They should have sought support in the Municipal Council – it will not be easy for us, but we must look for the way for good ideas.
Asked about the decision of Lyubo Georgiev from the “Sofia Team” to leave Terziev’s team, because according to unofficial information it became clear that the chief architect of the capital would not be able to be replaced, Terziev answered: The vote on the organizational structure is within the powers of the Municipal Council . At the moment, the chief architect is Mr. Zdravkov, but we plan to hold a competition when the organizational structure is adopted.
And about the construction of a 60-meter tower next to the “Paradise” mall, the mayor explained: We are working on the organization of traffic around the mall and I hope there will be progress. Regarding the building – this is one of the problems that have been inherited. We are looking for tools with which to put in order such construction, which is increasingly burdening some areas. Sometimes you have to own up to all those bad decisions and be even more ambitious with what comes next.
I don’t know what kind of collapse Georgi Georgiev from GERB is talking about, his drama is unnecessary, Terziev also commented.
What we have been doing for months is fixing the problems we found with the plumbing projects. So it is extremely unpleasant for me to listen to such statements about how they had taken up the heavy cross, how they had sacrificed themselves in Sofia, to listen to untruths about how 10 days before the election we had one candidate – this is simply not true, commented Terziev.
Some people have a problem with saying untrue things. We had other candidates and a rotation offer, we had everything on the table. What we didn’t have was a desire on the part of GERB to sit down and talk for 2 months. Because their goal was, is and will be to prove that we cannot rule. And this can be seen in each of their interviews, added the mayor. This game was also part of national politics, but GERB could not survive the loss of Sofia and the fact that someone else was voted to do something for the city. Therefore, every day they explained how the PP-DB-SS could not cope.
As an example, Terziev gave the cleaning of Sofia. 70% more sidewalks are cleaned than at any time during Fandakova’s time. We fine 8 to 10 times more. That is, we clean more and fine more, he added. The same was the case with garbage disposal, and the overflowing buckets had decreased significantly. We don’t know how to manage.
There are many examples of what we have done and every day there will be more and more visible results, he added. And he added that they have been in crisis mode since their first day.
Terziev said that he spoke with many European mayors during the meeting of the mayors of European capitals, and most of them said that it took them 1.5-2 years to arrange their team and start working as they are present. With us, every week since we have stepped into government, we have some kind of crisis – whether natural, whether caused, whether of another nature, and we are struggling with it. You have not heard me complain, we have rolled up our sleeves and will bring it to a successful conclusion, however many challenges there may be, he was emphatic.
They will not hear excuses from me – where there are challenges or mistakes – we will fight, we will improve them, as a team and processes, but the city will improve every day, Terziev vowed.
He hopes that at the next meeting of the SOS on February 22, they will not be “constantly a laughing stock in front of everyone with theater”, but that important decisions for the city will begin to be made. That is why he was extremely moderate in his statements, because he wanted to have a dialogue.
Cities are changing, we need to pick up the pace and it is our shared responsibility. Some petty political games cannot make all the residents of this city hostage to our future, concluded Terziev.