Former executive director of the Health Investment Company for a Children’s Hospital, Desislava Malinova, has accused the government of making a political decision that could significantly delay construction of Bulgaria’s long-awaited National Children’s Hospital.
Malinova was removed from her post on Tuesday by Health Minister Katya Ivkova, who appointed Elena Peneva-Zlatkova as the company’s new executive director. The Health Ministry also announced that it would launch a new tender procedure for the hospital project.
Malinova described the management change and decision to restart the procurement process as politically motivated, warning that the move could put the project back indefinitely.
“The Ministry of Health has made its choice: political appointments, the arrangement of ‘our people’ and personal interests have overtaken the future of Bulgarian children,” Malinova said in a statement.
She disputed the ministry’s explanation that the existing procedure had reached a legal dead end. According to Malinova, the procurement was suspended because one of the design companies had filed a complaint with the Commission for Protection of Competition, with the Supreme Administrative Court expected to issue its final ruling on September 15.
