site.btaWhat the Ministers-designate Said after Being Presented

Sofia, December 11 (BTA) - Here is what some of the ministers-designate said Saturday after the composition of the future government was presented in the Parliament building by Prime Minister-designate Kiril Petkov:

Borislav Sandov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environment and Water:

I am strongly motivated to work in my field of responsibility and my hope is that we will show very soon that Bulgaria can have a much better image and be a better country to live in.

The first meeting of the government was an opportunity to discuss freely all matters and the first day of work after Parliament gives its vote of confidence in this Council of Ministers.

One of the first things I will take up is transparency. I want to see each procedure in the environment and water regional inspectorates entered in a public register to make sure we are ware of all plans before the diggers come.

At a December 20 EU environment ministerial in Brussels, I will try to win some time off for Bulgaria to allow it to change course and perform better in the area of environment.

Bozhidar Bozhanov, Minister of eGovernment:

After the establishment of a Ministry of eGovernment, there will be political leadership in the rollout of the eGovernment. We will start with electronic identification to make sure all Bulgarian citizens are able to use electronic services.

The State Agency for eGovernment will be restructured. We will start with a number of victories that we can win fast, and with optimizing some processes, such as vehicle registration and issue of certificates, so that we can ger rid of things that waste people's time. Next will be the measures for optimization of registers and information services.

Education Minister Nikolay Denkov:

It is early days to speak of extending the school year.

I have never said that the external assessment or matriculation exams should be scrapped. It would be a problem for the entire education system because these tests add to students' motivation and allows us to see where we stand and where more work is needed. Improving the format of these tests is a different question and it is included in the coalition agreement.

I have already had a few words with Health Minister Assena Serbezova and our first task will be to sit down with medial specialists and discuss the approach to schooling during the pandemic. There has to be a consistent approach and it must be followed.

It was not hard for me to agree to keep the ministerial post because I have good working relations with Kiril Petkov and Assen Vassilev. We have shared ideas for the development of Bulgaria.

My top prioroty will be the quality of education, of university education, of scientific research. Vocational training is another priority because the economy needs workers and there are children and youths who donТt have academic interests.

Defence Minister Stefan Yanev:

I will make my contribution to a full four-year government term. Allow me first to go to the Defence Ministry to see in what shape it is and what urgent measures need to be taken. Some of the main problems facing the Armed Forces and their development concern the rearmament and staffing.

Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov:

The Interior Ministry has clear tasks and we cannot stop doing our job only because some parties in Parliament are unhappy.

The most pressing problem is organized crime and investigations on some large projects, including the construction of Hemus Motorway. We will continue to work hard. Even today we continued working on the Hemus investigation and it seems to me that this will result in changes, including changes in the composition of some parliamentary groups.

Justice Minister Nadejda Yordanova:

Our focus will be to make sure than people are in the centre of justice and the judiciary is just and not a war of cliques, some clinging to power and others to their corrupt practices.

Among the first legislative proposals we will make will be changes concerning the Supreme Judicial Council, curtailing the powers of the Prosecutor General, eliminating specialized courts and prosecution services, restructuring the asset forfeiture commission. The deadlines for those are no more than three months.

The debate on constitutional changes will take place parallel with the urgent reforms.

If I am elected Justice Minister, one of the first questions I will put forward as part of the upcoming budget procedure is that the prosecution service has to propose a realistic principle in budgeting based on efficiency standards and measurable performance.

Transport and Communications Minister Nikolay Sabev:

We need to make trains faster if we want to attarct passengers. It turns out that there are parts of the railway system where limitations for train speeds are created instead of making the necessary repairs. We have to see where these parts are and how we can do fast repairs there to safely raise the speed of passenger and freight trains.

I am convinced that the government can serve a full term. This is what people expect, there is public support and that became clear in the talks with the coalition partners.

After the government was presented, we had a meeting and all of us were on the same page. I am impressed by the lineup. There are great experts [in the future Cabinet] and I will be thrilled to work with them. LN/