Surely there is no citizen of Sofia, who is pleased with the cleanliness of public transportation vehicles. Dirty seats, sticky handles, dusty windows, odours … This does not prevent the municipal companies of Metropolitan Transport and Metropolitan Electrical Transport to pay millions to a handful of people who have arranged for themselves the privileged position to clean and polish buses, trolleys and trams each year. This business seems to be so lucrative that it is available to only selected few. Since the spring of 2011 the service has been taken over by BMT – Consult. Owner and manager of the company is the former deputy mayor of Sofia on ecology Milor Mihaylov. From his contract with Sofia he received 336 thousand levs without VAT.
The paradox here is that in 2006 Milor Mihailov left his office in 2006 because of the quality of cleaning services and the unforgettable city garbage crisis. The then Mayor Boyko Borissov fired him, saying the purchase of baling systems was the more expensive option and robbed local budget. As expected, these allegations were not confirmed by the prosecution, which in turn suggests that Mihailov was just a scapegoat to quell public outrage. Interesting fact is that Borisov and Mikhailov grew up together in Bankia. From 1995 to 2003 Milor Mikhailov was mayor of the latter district.
If any of these connections have helped the BMT – Consult to win public procurement can only be a matter of speculations.
In the business for cleaning public transport is a seemingly random lady – thirty-four-year old Raina Ivanova. Through her company, Greentown in 2011 and 2012 she took more than 340 thousand levs without VAT for cleaning of vehicles in tram depots Banishora and Nadezhda. However, the company has been involved in this business since 2009 when it won orders for more than 630 thousand levs. Since 2009 until now Ivanova has won five tenders with Metropolitan Electrical Transport and that was for a completely different business – delivery of spare parts. Revenues to Greentown from these contracts came to over 1 million levs. But that’s not all. In 2011 Raina Ivanova signed a two-year contract with Sofia Municipality for maintenance of parks, gardens, lawns, urban highways and alley plants, and it is not clear how much money the company managed to collect for these services.
With a contract for 550 thousand levs for cleaning trams and trolleys can boast the company of Nicholay Yanakiev Komunalna Technika. Interesting is that it operates almost all over the country by conducting various services for municipalities Yambol, Etropole, Hayredin and Boynitza. The company has a contract to maintain gardens and parks in Sofia in 2011 and 2012 as well as individual contracts with districts Studentski, Pancharevo, Vitosha and Mladost for cleaning the green spaces there.
The BANKER
