The Audit Committee started its work with 9 priorities for 4 years ago, until the 10-year period voted in plenary was fulfilled. The smallest state-owned company in the smallest settlement will also be inspected, announced the chairwoman of the newly established parliamentary commission, Maya Manolova, after its first meeting. According to her, the expectations for the work of the Commission are huge.
“People expect the truth about spending public money, as well as real checks for abuse and violation. The scope of the commission covers about 40 sectors with high corruption risk – bodies, departments, companies, programs and „black funds“, in which a huge financial resource was poured”, Manolova said at the beginning of the meeting.
The MPs adopted a starting list of the first 9 priorities by an absolute majority. It includes:
- Financial resources spent by the Council of Ministers with the Council of Ministers and the Council of Ministers for four years;
- Road construction sector: Motorways and roads, incl. and Motorways EAD, RIA and related companies;
- Turkish Stream and Bulgartransgaz EAD Project;
- Bulgarian Development Bank;
- National Energy Efficiency Program;
- The financing of measures to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic;
- Bulgarian Water and Sewerage Holding EAD, State Consolidation Company EAD, Montazhi EAD, Montazhi – Sofia EOOD, State Enterprise “Management and Management of Dams”;
- The transactions of the Sofia Commodity Exchange with the enterprises with more than 50 per 100 state participation;
- The six state forest companies.
Items 8 and 9 were proposed by the deputies and voted by the committee by a majority. Manolova clarified that this list was prepared on the basis of the largest expenditures incurred for the last 4 years and the most sensitive sectors for the public in view of the corruption risk. She stressed that most of the points in it were made through a series of journalistic investigations.
The Audit Committee has already received dozens of reports of violations. Only at the entrance to the commission we were informed about 60 signals that different organizations will provide us. We are flooded with signals from NGOs and investigative journalists. The commission will work with documents, on signals, as well as will refer to itself in case of public data for abuses, Manolova was categorical. She announced that she would work closely with NGOs, journalists, and experts who wanted to help the commission identify abuses. The commission will work transparently, publicly, and each meeting will be broadcast online, Manolova added.
It was initially proposed to check the start list for the last 2 years, but the Audit Committee voted for the checks to be for the last 4 years of the companies’ activity. Manolova commented:
“People expect the truth to come out in the last two years, because some of the drains are still going on and can be prevented.”
The next meeting of the Audit Committee is from 12:00 on April 27.
