Transparency International Bulgaria submitted an open letter to the Council of Ministers and the members of parliament, in which it expressed serious concern about the lack of transparency in the allocation of public funds to municipalities.
The reaction was prompted by the government’s decisions to allocate 85.5 million BGN to specific municipalities without clarifying the selection criteria.
We believe that these actions contradict the requirements of the National Strategy for Preventing and Combating Corruption (2021–2027), which requires institutions to apply an anti-corruption index for good governance in local governments.
Although good governance indices such as the ‘Local Integrity System Index’ have existed and played a role for more than 10 years, they are not being used, despite the requirements of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy. This disregard is a clear sign of a lack of commitment to implementing effective anti-corruption measures. According to this assessment, for example, the three regional capitals rank at the bottom in terms of anti-corruption capacity, Plovdiv at 3.52, Haskovo at 2.94, and Kardzhali, which consistently ranks last with 2.56 out of a possible 5 points.
The letter emphasizes the need for:
- Publishing clear criteria and a methodology for the allocation of funding;
Application of existing anti-corruption indices;
Alignment between budgetary decisions and the commitments set forth in the strategy.
Transparency International Bulgaria calls for urgent action by the government and the National Assembly to ensure transparency, fairness, and efficiency in the management of public resources.