site.btaUPDATED Former Economy Minister Denies Successor's Allegations of Delayed Arms Export Procedures, Personnel Changes

Former economy minister Kornelia Ninova Monday denied her successor's allegations about delayed arms export procedures and personnel changes in large numbers. She did that through a press release of the Bulgarian Socialist Party press office. 

Reacting to her successor Nikola Stoyanov that the interagency commission clearing arms exports – which is under the Economy Minister's control - has not met in due time and thus delayed the reviewing of arms export deal applications worth EUR 1 billion, she said that she would have been attacked whether or not the commission had met.

“If it had met in the last days of the outgoing government, the question would have been: ‘How dare they authorise EUR 1 billion worth of exports on the last day’. Now the question is: ‘Why did they not export EUR 1 billion worth of arms at the last moment’,” Ninova said.

“Above all, politics is about taking responsibility. Let the caretaker cabinet bear responsibility now,” the Socialists’ leader added.

Contrary to Stoyanov’s words, Ninova claimed that 72 people have not been fired at the Economy Ministry in the past 7 months. According to her, 24 people were retired, two others were dismissed for gross violations, and another one was dismissed due to conflict of interest.

Commenting on the allegations of changes in the managerial bodies of 14 subsidiaries of the State Consolidation Company (SCC), Ninova said that SCC has a total of 16 subsidiaries, in 3 of which the boards of directors were changed, and in other two – the executive directors and two liquidators (one of them due to death). “All the new boards’ members were appointed on a temporary basis. The selection procedures were launched. Some ended, others should be still in process,” she argued.

“If the SCC Board of Directors now has four members but it should consist of five by law, even according to Minister Stoyanov, why is he increasing that number to seven,” Ninova asked is response to Stoyanov’s earlier statement that he plans to have seven people on the Board.

Commenting on the accusations that the SCC Board of Directors has four members instead of five, Ninova said that her policy was to reduce the numbers of board members so that the boards do not become ‘feeding troughs’.