Three Bulgarian ministers were sacked on Friday after a road accident that killed 17 people and injured 20 others. On the same day, Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity briefed that at least 259 people were killed and 960 injured in 237 road accidents during the 13 days of Eid vacations. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov asked the three ministers – transport, interior and regional development— to step down, days after initial results from a probe into the crash found the road had been recently repaired using a substandard quality of asphalt.
What is totally different is that none of our ministers or officials showed any interest to take the responsibility. On the contrary, ministers of our country are ready to back transport workers accused of killing, and contractors-engineers who use low-quality construction materials. There is hardly any investigation though most of our roads are constructed with substandard materials that last for only a few months.
In Bulgaria, the bus driver is the only person who has been charged over the crash so far. But the probe result has revived a recurrent debate about the poor state of Bulgaria’s roads and its corruption-ridden public tender system, like ours. The tragedy highlighted the vicious system of the public procurement and construction works. Allegations have been rife that a large share of the funds for road repair projects — often coming from EU aid — are pocketed by firms close to power, leaving just a fraction for the actual repairs.
Corruption is like a political cancer and an administration steeped in corruption cannot be a government of public service. Rampant corruption is the reason why the government is shamelessly irresponsible. The minister responsible for safety of the roads is busy threatening the political opposition about consequences of their politics.
The Prime Minister’s ministers must also be thinking that keeping the opposition under intimidation is essential for continuing in power. So she also does not want to sack any minister however incompetent he or she is as long as they are useful for terrorizing others. No Prime Minister elected by the people could remain complacent about failures of ministers. So our people are dying helplessly.
