Bulgaria’s Cabinet votes further 1.6 million leva to assist Pernik in earthquake aftermath
Bulgaria’s Cabinet agreed on September 19 2012 to allocate a further 1.6 million leva (about 800 000 euro) to assist the recovery of the mining town of Pernik near capital city Sofia in the wake of the May 2012 earthquake.
The distribution of the money will be handled by an interdepartmental commission that was set up to guide Pernik’s recovery.
Critics of the government’s response have said that the allocation and distribution of money to aid Pernik after the earthquake have been badly handled. There have been public protests and criticism from opposition parties, the latter keen to exploit the issue in view of Bulgaria’s 2013 national parliamentary elections.
Prime Minister Boiko Borissov earlier sent EU funds minister Tomislav Donchev to take charge of the recovery process in Pernik. Recently, the Bulgarian Red Cross set up a fundraising campaign to help those left in dire straits after the 5.6 Richter scale quake laid waste to their homes.
* Update: At 8pm on September 19, an earth tremor of 2.5 on the Richter scale was registered near Pernik, seismologists said.
(Photo: Vassia Atanassova)
