Socialists Move for No Confidence in Government over Environment, Water Policy, Minister Says Attack Is "Fake News"
NW 18:19:01 30-12-2019
LN1816NW.115
115 POLITICS - GOVERNMENT - NO CONFIDENCE amplified
Socialists Move for No Confidence in Government
over Environment, Water Policy, Minister Says Attack Is
"Fake News"
Sofia, December 30 (BTA) - The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) announced Monday that it is moving for a vote of no confidence in the government over what it sees as a failure of the environment and water policy. BSP leader Kornelia Ninova broke the news after the party's decision-making Executive Bureau and the leadership of its parliamentary group held an extraordinary meeting earlier in the day.
Shortly after Ninova spoke to the press, Environment and Water Minister Neno Dimov held a news briefing to respond to her attacks and said they were all "fake news", rejecting any responsibility for the failures in the water sector and blaming them on previous - particularly Socialist - governments.
The Socialists' announcement of the upcoming no-confidence montion came a day after Ninova visited the western town of Pernik where water supply has been rationed for one and a half months now since it transpired that the level of water in the town's potable water reservoir had gone critically low.
Ninova said the water crisis has affected not only Pernik but also other towns and regions of the country.
She was likely referring to Botevgrad, among other towns, whose mayor said in a radio interview this last weekend that the town's reservoir has water for six weeks only due to uncontrolled use of water by a privately owned hydroelectric power plant.
The no-confidence motion against the government will be submitted in the first few working days of the National Assembly in the new year, Ninova said. The legislature will resume its plenary sittings on January 15 after a Christmas recess.
"Incompetent policies, negligence and theft during [Prime Minister] Borissov's 10 years in power have left about half a million Bulgarians without access to drinking water. The water crisis in Pernik is becoming a national crisis, because other regions and towns are confronted by the same problem," she said.
She added that during the 10 years under Borissov, water prices have grown steadily for the Bulgarian people, but no measures have been taken to boost investments in the sector.
Ninova said: "Only 0.5 per cent of the water supply network has been replaced. Over 50 per cent of the water is lost. Our air pollution problem is the third most serious in the world, because Boyko Borissov's government allows waste to be imported from all over the world and to be burned in Bulgaria. We are breathing cancer and drinking poison."
According to the Socialist leader, criminal liability should be borne for the failure to address these issues in Pernik and elsewhere.
The BSP is open for dialogue with all other parliamentary parties concerning the support for the no-confidence motion, she said.
Environment Minister: This Is Fake News
At a news briefing he held later the same day, Environment and Water Minister Neno Dimov dismissed all accusations as misdirected and manipulative. "I just want to remind you that under the BSP-led government back in 2013-2014, Operational Programme Environment was suspended. All the funding directed to the water sector was frozen. This has been the biggest failure in setting up an environmentally friendly infrastructure in Bulgaria since the start of the transition in 1989," Dimov pointed out.
He added that the second government of the ruling party GERB managed to save the funding from this operational programme and that all regional capitals were able to implement water cycle projects - except Pernik. Dimov made a point of mentioning that Pernik had a socialist mayor during the period he was referring to.
"What Mrs. Ninova is doing is continuing to instill fear through fake news," he said adding that she was using fake news when she speaks both of the water sector and air pollution. "If Mrs. Ninova really cared for the air, she should have talked with the tripartite coalition government of Sergei Stanishev [2005-2009] to find money for clean air, as the first operational programme [Environment] had no funding for that while the second had 110 million leva," said Dimov.
On Sunday Ninova visited the town of Bobov Dol to meet with local people and municipal council members and hear their complaints that they are subject to a "genocide" as a result of air, water and soil pollution caused by the incineration of waste in the local heat plant while the competent authorities are turning a blind eye to the problems.
Dimov said that all thermoelectric power plants and central heating utilities were privatized between 2004 and 2009 when Ninova was Deputy Minister of Energy, and that she should face the consequences for her actions.
He also pointed out that since 2014, almost all air pollution measuring stations have been showing improvement in air quality.
Dimov said that the problems in the water and air sectors are serious, but they will be solved over time, and the first positive results are already visible.
Commenting the allegations that the town of Botevgrad is also on the brink of a water crisis, the Minister said that his Ministry is not in charge of the water power plant which is blamed of using without control water from the potable water reservoir. He said, though, that he has information that it was turned off for the entire 2019. VE/MT/LN/
//
LN1816NW.115
115 POLITICS - GOVERNMENT - NO CONFIDENCE amplified
Socialists Move for No Confidence in Government
over Environment, Water Policy, Minister Says Attack Is
"Fake News"
Sofia, December 30 (BTA) - The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) announced Monday that it is moving for a vote of no confidence in the government over what it sees as a failure of the environment and water policy. BSP leader Kornelia Ninova broke the news after the party's decision-making Executive Bureau and the leadership of its parliamentary group held an extraordinary meeting earlier in the day.
Shortly after Ninova spoke to the press, Environment and Water Minister Neno Dimov held a news briefing to respond to her attacks and said they were all "fake news", rejecting any responsibility for the failures in the water sector and blaming them on previous - particularly Socialist - governments.
The Socialists' announcement of the upcoming no-confidence montion came a day after Ninova visited the western town of Pernik where water supply has been rationed for one and a half months now since it transpired that the level of water in the town's potable water reservoir had gone critically low.
Ninova said the water crisis has affected not only Pernik but also other towns and regions of the country.
She was likely referring to Botevgrad, among other towns, whose mayor said in a radio interview this last weekend that the town's reservoir has water for six weeks only due to uncontrolled use of water by a privately owned hydroelectric power plant.
The no-confidence motion against the government will be submitted in the first few working days of the National Assembly in the new year, Ninova said. The legislature will resume its plenary sittings on January 15 after a Christmas recess.
"Incompetent policies, negligence and theft during [Prime Minister] Borissov's 10 years in power have left about half a million Bulgarians without access to drinking water. The water crisis in Pernik is becoming a national crisis, because other regions and towns are confronted by the same problem," she said.
She added that during the 10 years under Borissov, water prices have grown steadily for the Bulgarian people, but no measures have been taken to boost investments in the sector.
Ninova said: "Only 0.5 per cent of the water supply network has been replaced. Over 50 per cent of the water is lost. Our air pollution problem is the third most serious in the world, because Boyko Borissov's government allows waste to be imported from all over the world and to be burned in Bulgaria. We are breathing cancer and drinking poison."
According to the Socialist leader, criminal liability should be borne for the failure to address these issues in Pernik and elsewhere.
The BSP is open for dialogue with all other parliamentary parties concerning the support for the no-confidence motion, she said.
Environment Minister: This Is Fake News
At a news briefing he held later the same day, Environment and Water Minister Neno Dimov dismissed all accusations as misdirected and manipulative. "I just want to remind you that under the BSP-led government back in 2013-2014, Operational Programme Environment was suspended. All the funding directed to the water sector was frozen. This has been the biggest failure in setting up an environmentally friendly infrastructure in Bulgaria since the start of the transition in 1989," Dimov pointed out.
He added that the second government of the ruling party GERB managed to save the funding from this operational programme and that all regional capitals were able to implement water cycle projects - except Pernik. Dimov made a point of mentioning that Pernik had a socialist mayor during the period he was referring to.
"What Mrs. Ninova is doing is continuing to instill fear through fake news," he said adding that she was using fake news when she speaks both of the water sector and air pollution. "If Mrs. Ninova really cared for the air, she should have talked with the tripartite coalition government of Sergei Stanishev [2005-2009] to find money for clean air, as the first operational programme [Environment] had no funding for that while the second had 110 million leva," said Dimov.
On Sunday Ninova visited the town of Bobov Dol to meet with local people and municipal council members and hear their complaints that they are subject to a "genocide" as a result of air, water and soil pollution caused by the incineration of waste in the local heat plant while the competent authorities are turning a blind eye to the problems.
Dimov said that all thermoelectric power plants and central heating utilities were privatized between 2004 and 2009 when Ninova was Deputy Minister of Energy, and that she should face the consequences for her actions.
He also pointed out that since 2014, almost all air pollution measuring stations have been showing improvement in air quality.
Dimov said that the problems in the water and air sectors are serious, but they will be solved over time, and the first positive results are already visible.
Commenting the allegations that the town of Botevgrad is also on the brink of a water crisis, the Minister said that his Ministry is not in charge of the water power plant which is blamed of using without control water from the potable water reservoir. He said, though, that he has information that it was turned off for the entire 2019. VE/MT/LN/
//
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