Photo: Ivan Atanasov
Instead of providing real solutions to combat summer fires and ensure uninterrupted water supply and equipment, the GERB party in Harmanli decided to fight the fiery element… with a declaration. At the last session of the Municipal Council, they submitted and voted on a two-page document full of clichés and recommendations, with the support of the BSP, DPS, and Vazrazhdane parties.
The declaration, submitted by Nikolay Nikolov, chairman of the Municipal Council’s Public Order and Security Committee, promises “close cooperation” with institutions such as the Ministry of Interior and the fire department. But how exactly will this happen, given that the Municipal Council has neither operational nor administrative powers?
Last year, two councillors from the “We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria” party asked the Municipal Council to oblige Mayor Maria Kirkova to urgently seek funds to solve the problem of constant water cuts in the villages of Sakar. This problem has been plaguing the residents there for nearly a decade, and the local administration has done nothing significant to solve it. Water is also needed to extinguish fires. However, GERB preferred to set up a commission to “investigate” why the water is being cut off. A year later, there are no results from its work. But the declaration is a fact.
To make the absurdity complete, the author of the declaration also intends to monitor the implementation of what is written in it: “We will insist on and monitor the strict implementation of the following activities,” the text reads:
- inspections for compliance with the Law on the Protection of Agricultural Land will be intensified;
- cleaning of municipal properties;
- maintenance of firebreaks.”
However, all these tasks fall within the powers of state authorities, not the Municipal Council. This turns the declaration into political theater rather than an instrument for real change.
Among the measures to tackle the water crisis is a “massive information campaign” through the media, social networks, and the distribution of leaflets — something that other institutions have been doing for a long time. In other words, instead of investing in the creation of new water sources, technology, and training, the focus is on posters and social media posts.
Supported by the BSP and DPS, the declaration shows one thing: the councillors, who receive 1,500 leva per month, do not understand what they can and cannot do. And when the fires flare up again, declarations will not extinguish them.
