The local government subject is now back on the agenda after the floods and the elections in Sarnitsa Municipality. Long-running CEO of the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria Ginka Chavdarova comments the current municipal issues.

Over 140 municipalities were hit by the floods last year. We started to talk about clever planning, about the creation of an inter-municipal fund. How far did these ideas get?

“Nature brings us challenges that we obviously underestimate. We had 20–30 municipalities affected by previous disasters but last year that number reached 50 percent of Bulgarian municipalities. The idea of the Municipal Solidarity Fund at the association is for voluntarily contributions paid by every  municipality on an annual basis. In case of a disaster we are obliged to provide funds accumulated within the first 8 hours given that central government mechanisms react no sooner than a month later.”

What were the most common mistakes at the absorption of the EU funds during the previous programming period?

“There were lots of mistakes. We threw ourselves in many parallel projects, but we underestimated the issue of administrative capacity. Our association organized training and practices for the employees. We bought software for access to information on the EU projects, allowing for online applications and reporting. At the central level we did complicate our own system for EU funds management by inapplicable bureaucratic procedures and rules that always changed. We hope that those will be eliminated with the new legislative amendments. Corruption is our main concern and together we need to look for anti-corruption actions.”

Protests, caretaker cabinets, snap elections… Are municipalities ready for local polls after all this?

“We have never had such a dynamic term so far – with three parliaments and five governments in a row. We should look at the future of Bulgarian towns and villages. We have a large number of rural municipalities and we count on their successful development. We are ready for the local elections, as we know that we have achieved some good results during hard times. The mayors and municipal councils have gained experience and self-confidence and this should have a positive effect on the newcomers”.

What are the joint projects implemented by the association with its partnering organizations in the Balkans?

“The National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria is one of the initiators and founders of the Network of Association of Local Authorities of South-East Europe - NALAS. Being one of the more experienced structures, we have taken the responsibility to be the leader, as far as the most complicated subject is concerned, notably financial decentralization. We will host the annual meeting in May and a Balkan conference for exchange of good practices in disaster management will be held on its sidelines. We organize training for the associations in the region. The municipalities in the Balkans have open their doors for direct contacts among them. It is a communication channel with very useful information transferred along excluding any national and history-related points of argument. We argue on how to deliver better services to citizens and this is a worthy discussion indeed.”

English version: Zhivko Stanchev / Edited by Daniela Konstantinova