Strong spending has taken place in the last year of the government of Boyko Borissov. The Council of Ministers has spent over 149 million levs, while Parliament only approved only 67.4 million levs. In other words, the Cabinet quietly increased costs for 2012 which more than double what was planned. More interesting is that the huge leap of spending was made by the recently resigned cabinet in the last quarter of the year. Then an additional 50 million levs was specified (as officially they call the swelling of the budget). The money spent over this period comes to nearly 67 million lev – as much as they should have been enough for the entire 2012.
The high speed of spending is visible in the System for Electronic Budget Payments (SEBRA). If in October 2012 the various monthly activities that were paid came to 11,570,230 levs, this amount skyrocketed to 50.38 million levs in December. In the last working day of the year, alone, ordered payments amounted to 26,360,496 levs, which is a true record.
The big question is
what happened to all that money?
Nearly 150 million levs for 12 months is a serious challenge to spend even for an institution with 3,098 employees. Moreover, only for the salaries of these officers a sum of 45.33 million levs has been earmarked. The amount is by 2.83 million levs more than approved in the state budget. Even more interesting is the fact that the increase is not due to additional employees, on the contrary the average positions were set at 3,235, and in fact the administration was working with 137 fewer. The key is in the bonuses endash the so-called additional incentives and other fees and payments to staff.
For the maintenance of the Council of Ministers itself and its subordinate bodies and programs initially were allocated 14 million levs, and later the amount swelled to more than 40 million levs. The explanation for this excess is the 13 million levs allocated in December to the government hospital Lozenets, but there is another thing. About 3 million levs in contingencies went to Preventing and combating corruption and organized crime. Another 2 million lev were paid out in salaries and acquisition of tangible assets for BORKOR, which were not originally planned, even though the creation of the structure was well known.
With over 7 million levs expanded the maintenance
of the Administration working programme.
What exactly is behind these payments – reports are not quite clear. But surely they include spending on airfare, computers, cleaning and more. For example, flights cost 600 thousand levs, paid to the company Elite Travel International. Its owners – Anelia and Margarita Bachiyski say the firm was serving the government before that, and for its work in 2010 it received 800 thousand levs. Their company has won more than 40 contracts with government agencies over the past five years. No less interesting is the contract with
Maestro Park delivery and arrangement of flowers,
plants, bouquets, wreaths, baskets and maintenance of ornamental plants and green spaces in the building of the Council of Ministers and the Boyana. The contract was signed on April 17, 2012, but the exact amount to be paid to the company was never specified.
But it is true that Cooperation Panda took 322,698 thousand levs for annual maintenance of the three black-and-white copiers Konica. Known are also the cost of new computers to employees – a total of 358,000 levs. Separately, the Internet connection from Spectrum Net cost 123,300 levs.
Insurance swallowed 110 thousand levs. Almost the entire amount was taken by Lev Ins and only 587 lev (for bonds of laptops) managed to bite Euroins. In this respect
there is one curious detail
insurance policies of the Council of Ministers in 2013 were signed the same day when Boyko Borissov resigned as Prime Minister (February 20). This time, all contracts are with OZK Insurance and the total value is 60 thousand levs.
One cannot miss the commodity exchange deal for the supply of heating oil coming to 246 thousand levs, won by Saxa Ltd. one of the largest distributors of fuel in the country, although unknown to the general public. The company is owned by Svetozar and Athanas Dimovi from their site it becomes clear they also work with OMV Bulgaria, ECO Bulgaria, Shell Bulgaria and Rompetrol Bulgaria. A few days before Christmas with Sofia Gas company was agreed also the supply of natural gas to the Boyana resodence. The contract is for 356,784 lev without VAT.
The biggest gap in the Council of Ministers accounts made the so-called paragraphs of administered costs. The budget of the institution initially included 4.4 million levs on this, but after amendments, the money increased to 50 million. The main reason is the allocated 34.8 million levs to payment of licenses, to Microsoft.
These charges were provided for
in the budget as if the rulers hadnrquote t known that they will have to make them. And these are not the only sums spent without an approved budget. Under this scheme 1.4 million levs are paid to programs for temporary employment.
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One good reason for the adjustment of the budget is undoubtedly helping the victims of the floods in Harmanli Municipality in February 2012. After all adjustments and amendments, for the purpose are provided… 9,000 levs. Even more absurd is that they have spent only 8,424 levs out of the approved 9,000 levs.
It seems that this year
estimated costs will go beyond
the allowed expenditures for 2013, which are slightly higher than last yearrquote s one and have been fixed at 72.6 million levs. However, for the upcoming general election no money has been set aside and these costs come to about 15-20 million levs. The funds for the Hospital Lozenets are also critically low (12 million levs for the whole year) and probably will still need augmentation.
The BANKER
