/View.info/ Uncertainty and lack of predictability are the biggest enemies of entrepreneurs.
And while for countries like Belgium, for example, where economic life went on without shocks, although there was no government for 5 months after the last elections in May, in our country the political crisis and the lack of a cabinet brings with it the danger of business falling into weightlessness . Or in other words – to stop the payments between the state and the companies, the officials to refuse to sign documents, and the solving of urgent issues to freeze.
How to solve the difficult political conundrum that arose after the elections on October 5 – “Standard” sought the opinion of owners and managers of leading companies, as well as representatives from various sectors of small and medium-sized businesses.
Politicians to unite in the name of common goals
Even competing companies work together for the common development of the sector
Nikolay Mihailov, chairman of the Bulgarian Transport Infrastructure Forum
It is mandatory to form a government within the new parliament. It is high time that we have common goals and directions for the development of the state, around which politicians can unite, regardless of the contradictions in their platforms. In the social sphere and business, this has been happening for years. Competing companies come together, discuss problems and search for the best solutions for the entire industry. Although they fight each other for individual contracts and projects, they work together for the general development of the sector. Why shouldn’t this work for the story and the politicians to grow the economy and follow the rules as we all want? It is high time that the feeling that the one who is in a different position than ours is our enemy should disappear.
Continuity is needed
Kamen Kichev, executive director of “PST Holding”
It is mandatory for business to form a government as soon as possible. It is no less important, however, that there should be continuity in management and that priorities should not be changed by each cabinet. Instead, the reforms already started should be continued and built upon. There must be a similar continuity in the construction of infrastructure and transport construction. A lot of work is also needed on the “Transport” and “Regional Development” operational programs – both for the successful completion of the projects from this program period, and for the negotiation of the conditions for the period 2014-2020. The caretaker government is currently doing its best in this direction , but still his work is limited in time. The priorities should not change with each new government, because the most dangerous thing for business and the state is instability.
People also started saving on beer
Nikolay Mladenov, executive director of “Zagorka” AD
I can’t directly predict how the current political situation will affect business, but I can say what would be beneficial for us. Business needs stability and predictability. The beer industry is one of the largest consumer industries in Bulgaria with millions of consumers. And what happens overall in the country directly reflects on the industry, because it is a barometer of the confidence of consumers to spend. We know that if initially the consumer can reduce the consumption of luxury goods, then when it comes to reducing beer, it means that he is saving. And now we’ve reached a point where people are skimping on beer, which is not a good long-term environment for doing business.
My wish is for the political situation to develop in a direction that would provide a little more stability and a longer-term perspective for business. I am not talking about one, two, three years, but about a perspective of 20 years, how to successfully do business in Bulgaria and make Bulgarians feel good.
From the point of view of the beer industry, the tax policy and freedom to do business are good in our country. But unfortunately, the things that are happening in the country right now are affecting consumers, which then reflects negatively on our industry. In order for the brewers to develop successfully, the Bulgarian must feel good, spend, go out to restaurants. We are part of people’s lifestyle, beer is their daily luxury.
Real estate deals freeze around elections
Evgeni Vassilev, manager of “Arko Real Estate”
The election had a big impact on the property market. For the last twenty days, this has been felt very sharply both in terms of our investment projects and in our work as a real estate agency. There is a serious lull. People are waiting, though I don’t know exactly what. But it’s always like that around elections. There is always a stir after them. But I don’t remember such a lull like this. It is possible that the bad weather, the explosions at Gorni Lom, also played a role. There was also a rumor, which I heard from several places even before the elections, that after the elections property prices would drop sharply by 10-20%. Personally, I don’t believe in this and there are no economic prerequisites for it to happen, but some people are influenced by such things.
I expect the revival of the market to happen very soon. Up to a week or two, if it becomes clear that things are moving towards the creation of a government and that one of the parties will accept the mandate of the president. Regardless of what the new government will be – minority, majority, coalition – the important thing is to have it. Regardless of who takes over, in the first 1-2 years of their mandate, governments always take more populist steps, things that benefit both people and business. As far as I understand, at the moment the state again has a debt to business of about half a billion BGN. I expect that this money will begin to be paid out in the first days of the next government, as happened with the “Oresharski” cabinet. If it really becomes clear within a week or two that there will be a government, I expect a revival in the real estate market as well. Especially since it is currently the active season for purchases. However, this is my prediction in the short term, in our country it is still difficult to make long-term predictions.
Aman of parachute clerks, we need professionals
Krasimir Lalov, Deputy Chairman of the National Association of Bulgarian Carriers and the Confederation of Road Transport Associations
The first and most important thing that the new cabinet, whatever it may be, must do is to appoint a professional state administration that will not be tampered with by subsequent governments. This is the only way out of this management quagmire – the appointment of an administration of professionals to push the country forward regardless of who is in power. As the administration is not elected through contests – because we have seen this film as well, but through discussion by the industry, trade unions, politicians – and to appoint proven professionals.
25 years of parachutists dropped with specific tasks for a specific time came to our throats. And whether the government will be called programmatic or expert is a matter of etiquette, and we have already seen both films. Let the members of the 43rd Parliament sit at one table and accept that the administration is out of politics, and not seek to cash in on jumping the 4% barrier with haggling to director level. That as we drove her – only the cleaners remained outside the political offices. As for making political decisions on important topics such as electricity, gas, etc. – to sit down and, in full compliance with the laws, shake hands.
Only a program office will solve the problems of NEK
Ivan Hinovski, Chairman of the Bulgarian Energy and Mining Forum (BEMF)
A Program Government must be formed as soon as possible, which will undertake the implementation of several urgent, difficult and unpopular measures in the most important and sickest sector – energy. These are measures for the implementation of which all political parties in the new parliament must unite. The first measure is to find an urgent solution to the problem of the huge deficit in the NEC. The second is undertaking legislative changes with the aim of restructuring the “black box” NEK into three legally and financially separate companies, in which to separate the various activities: NEK-investments, NEK-electricity production and NEK-public supplier. This is the only way to make the situation in the NEC completely transparent and focus attention on treating the real problems, and not once again transferring them from the sick head to the healthy one. However, it is precisely against the implementation of legislative changes in the energy sector that we have been encountering a constant quiet resistance for years from some circles that have an interest in preserving the status quo.
The third measure is to investigate the large investment projects that have brought huge losses to the country, and especially for the “Belene” NPP, our opinion is that it should be sold immediately.
#Business #politicians #act
