The impending crisis over garbage collection in Sofia has been temporarily averted. This became clear after representatives of the two garbage collection companies, who threatened to stop work because of unpaid invoices, met with the municipal councillors in the Environment Committee.
The executive directors of the companies did not attend the meeting. Instead, their legal counsel and public relations representatives were present. They explained that such a delay in payments had never occurred before and that the companies are currently unable to pay their employees’ wages. City officials once again assured them that all outstanding payments would be settled after the adoption of the municipal budget.
The representatives of the two companies left the meeting visibly dissatisfied.
Ekaterina Dudova, PR representative of the companies, stated:
"Based on the way the meeting was handled, there were once again no answers—neither from the council members nor from Ms. Bobcheva. No one is taking responsibility or giving a clear timeline for when the invoices will be paid."
Anastasiya Yoveva, legal adviser for the companies, added:
"The only reason we are here is because of the large outstanding debts owed by the Sofia Municipality—delayed payments for approved and completed work amounting to BGN 9 million for the two companies I represent. The budget has not been adopted yet, but that should not be a reason to delay payments. We are practically unable to continue operating under these circumstances."
Deputy Mayor for Ecology Nadezhda Bobcheva called the situation yet another instance of political blackmail. She also pointed out that both companies are owned by Rumen Gaytanski—also known as "The Wolf."
"Until the municipal budget is adopted, we cannot release the funds owed to these contractors. The fact is that no other companies are threatening to stop street cleaning or grass cutting. From today's meeting, we learned that these two companies have never previously experienced delayed payments. They must have been favored under the previous city administration. But the truth is, we have had countless issues with them since the start of this term." Bobcheva said.
Bobcheva further stated that since the beginning of the current municipal administration, the two companies have been fined a total of BGN 1 million for failing to meet their contractual obligations. The companies, in turn, argued that the violations were minor, such as failing to collect rubbish placed next to bins.
Photo by BTA
ZAUBA and Green Partners, the two companies in question, are responsible for garbage collection in eight residential districts of Sofia. They continue to insist that the municipality settle its debts before the budget is approved next week. Their contracts are among seven that are set to expire soon.
Mayor Terziev has given the Ministry of Finance and the Public Procurement Agency a three-day deadline to issue the necessary approval so that new public tenders for waste collection services can be announced. These new tenders would cover waste management in 20 districts of Sofia. The mayor warned that failure to act could leave entire neighbourhoods could be left littered with rubbish.
Meanwhile, council members from the GERB-UDF party once again took aim at the city’s waste processing plant. They plan to submit a report to the prosecutor’s office over an unregulated landfill containing recyclable waste that was recently discovered near the facility. A drone inspection also identified a second illegal dump site approximately 300 metres away from the first.
Чуй новините
Подкаст
