/ world today news/ The municipal councilor Georgi Kadiev made terrible revelations in his blog about the contract between Sofiyska voda and its owner United Utilities, as the concession was later transferred to Veolia voda, but the contract remained without particular changes.
According to separate clauses of this contract, it is provided that upon its termination, even at the expiration of its term, all due costs shall be paid to the owner company, but in addition to them also costs of demobilization and “all other reasonable costs incurred by the contractor in performance to the requirements of the concessionaire”.
Other of our most damaging parts of the contract are its appendices. According to Annex A, a fee is paid to the owners of the company every year, apart from any other expenses, just because they are a party to the contract. It is $250,000 for the first year and increases with the US price index.
This is outside the distribution of the company’s profit, outside the subcontracting of activities to related subsidiaries that increase the price. This is purely and simply a sure profit for the owner, regardless of the financial results of Sofia Water, they are obliged to contribute $250,000 to their owner every year, even if no activities have been performed under the contract.
In Appendix “B” it is said that Sofia Water owes its owner all the costs of providing the services, including plane tickets, visas, accommodation costs, food costs, training costs. And in addition to these amounts, consultants are paid up to 8,500 euros per week for their stay.
The contract also includes other curious clauses such as Art. 7.1, which says that the owner’s management, consultants, representatives and advisers “are not liable for damages and are not responsible to the concessionaire for their actions or omissions”. This raises concerns that they can with complete impunity fail to do their job as advisers or directors, bring harm to the company and bear no responsibility for their actions.
At the same time, the contract, although it is in Bulgaria, that it refers to Bulgaria, is not under Bulgarian legislation and any claims and disputes are resolved under the legislation of England.
The ordinary Sofianian would ask himself the elementary question – How is it possible to allow all this? Who is responsible in this case and what would any subsequent government do to eliminate any such clauses that harm every citizen?
If such clauses exist in this contract, what similar clauses, clauses and annexes exist in other contracts of companies labeled “Monopoly”.
Isn’t it time for the government to show the true face of the so-called “investors” who have reached the sectors of national importance. Isn’t it time to reassess and revise all contracts with similar content?
In fact, everyone should be surprised and quite sincerely outraged by the audacity of such companies to raise the price of their service every year, and to claim that they are operating at a loss.
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