Residents of the Municipality of Karlovo are going out for a symbolic April Uprising in view of the many problems in individual settlements, which Iskra.bg has informed its readers about over the past few days. The protest is expected to begin at 11:00 a.m. on April 22 /Saturday/ in front of the „Hristo Botev“ memorial complex in Kalofer, and then with a procession to reach and block the Sub-Balkan road between Burgas and Sofia.
We will all join forces, because the brutality of Karlovo Municipality must stop, Mayor of Kalofer Rumen Stoyanov announced to Iskra.bg. He explained that over the past year he personally wrote several report notes on the problems related to the memorial complex, but at the moment no corrections have been made regarding the poorly executed repair.
„What infuriates me is that for more than a year I have written at least 10 reports, and so far I have not received any movement – neither from the Karlovo Municipality, nor from the company that carried out the infamous repair. And since there is such carelessness on the part of the Municipality, and we cannot in any way rouse them to do their work, I think this is the way to go. We can’t wait that long and nobody pays attention to us,“, he said, adding that he had also referred to the Prosecutor’s Office, but several times it refused to initiate investigations.
A 2019 report of the State Financial Inspection Agency /SFIA/ to the Ministry of Finance clearly indicates the type and number of violations committed by the repair contractor. According to the state audit, not only did it not fully fulfill the assumed obligations, but it received without legal basis the sum of BGN 101,300.87 with VAT for „uncompleted quantities of construction and repair activities“. Stoyanov clarified that the report has not been completed and if the investigation is carried out to the end, it is quite possible that the „sunk“ funds will double.
The mayor also revealed that in 2022 BGN 75,000 was allocated for the repair of 200 square meters of street in Kalofer, which was only torn up. According to him, no one from the Municipality of Karlovo has given an explanation of how and where the funds went, as well as what needs to be done now.
„Let people express their pain, but it seems that there is not enough transparency about what is being done by the Municipality of Karlovo,“, he pointed out.
Rumen Stoyanov was one of the first volunteers who, during the great floods in Karlovsko, responded with personal equipment and helped free of charge to overcome the damage. He also organized more than one charity concert to help the victims.
„For eight days, I helped with my personal tractor. During this time, many people called me also with equipment and friends who came and worked on a voluntary basis. There were other mayors among them. Now it is not known who we have helped – the victims or some pocket. This will be one of the issues of the protest. The state, represented the Minister of the Interior, Ivan Demerdzhiev, said: „I have given as much money as was asked of me. And at the same time, local authorities say they don’t have enough money. I can’t understand them, have they absorbed the money so well and let them tell each other, because people don’t see visible results, and this money is ours and we want some explanation,“, he shared.
When asked what the demands of the residents of Kalofer were, Stoyanov replied: „They must come immediately and repair the stairs and the lighting. We want 30% or as much as we are entitled to from the properties sold, as it is by law, to be given to us, because we have no answer there either. We want a report on the mentioned BGN 75,000 for the street and what has been done against this amount. These are the most striking things. It’s just that we are in such a relationship that when we write, they don’t answer us, let alone sit down to talk. We can’t have any dialogue.“
We remind you that last week residents of the flood-affected villages of Bogdan, Slatina and Karavelovo in Karlovo shared the problems in their settlements as well, and that they only see promises from the Municipality of Karlovo, but no real actions. They will also join the protest, which will be attended by representatives of local businesses, as well as mayors from different parts of Bulgaria. Stoyanov specified that he does not expect support from his colleagues in the Karlovo Municipality, because, according to him, they are afraid. He assured that if they are not heard now and their demands are not met, there will be more demonstrations.
Stay tuned for a continuation of why residents of the town of Banya will join in the discontent.
