site.btaAudit Office Establishes Grave Delay in Development of Flooding Risk Management Plans

Audit Office Establishes Grave Delay in Development of Flooding Risk  Management Plans

Sofia, August 16 (BTA) - The Audit Office has audited the implementation of a procedure under Operational Programme Environment relevant to the drafting of flooding risk management plans, the office said Tuesday. The audit shows that fundamental activities under the project have not been implemented and have been delayed. That is why it is necessary to provide additional national resources, so that they can be completed after the end of the programme period.

The audit covered the period from January 1, 2012 to June 30, 2015 at the Ministry of Environment and Water and the Managing Authority of the Operational Programme. The grant for the project was initially 20 million leva. The beneficiaries under the project were four basin directorates - those in Pleven, Plovdiv, Blagoevgrad and Varna.

Non-performance of the activities can lead to suspension of payments under Operational Programme Environment.

The main reasons for the delay include the late start of the project; lack of administrative capacity; inefficient control measures on the part of the Managing Authority, as well as a frequent change of managing teams and the heads of the basin directorates. For example, six environment ministers have changed during the audited period, as well as five heads of the OP Managing Authority.