Minister Asen Lichev: At the Ministry I came to a spent budget a few very important tasks that were not completed

27 May, 2021 | 09:58

At the Ministry I came to a budget that had been already spent and a few very important tasks that were not completed. This was said by the Minister of Environment and Water Asen Lichev during an interview for the talk show “Hello Bulgaria” on Nova TV.

 

In connection with the heavy rains, he said that there is no real danger of floods, it all depends on the condition of dams, which are operated by municipalities.

 

“What I found was a spent budget. I will revise it. I found one or two very important tasks that had not been completed, such as the Iskar River Management System, which should have already been in operation at the first stage. I will revise it too. Regarding the budget deficit - from the total budget of 64 million BGN, 10 million BGN constitutes a deficit in the budget of the Ministry of Environment and Water. This means that contracts have been signed for those in advance and now we cannot pay them out. The other main instrument for financing the policies, the so-called EMEPA with a budget of 74 million, has a deficit of 24 million,” explained Lichev. He added that two of the risky projects that entailed the deficit would be reported to the Economic Police. 

 

Lichev also said that when he first came to the Ministry it smelled of corruption. “The state has not been able to fight corruption among the middle and upper echelons of the administration because there are no precise criteria,” he stressed. Lichev added that the construction at Aleppo must be demolished.

 

“I am in the process of preparing an order to temporarily restrict the import of waste from certain countries that are not EU members,” said Lichev. The Minister announced that the “Green Book” will be presented at the MOEW tomorrow.

 

Source: FOCUS Information Agency