Penniless Bulgarian Govt 'Relinquishes' Mosquito Control

Bulgarian Finance Minister Djankov said the government won't provide any funds for mosquito control in 2010. Photo by BGNES

The Bulgarian government has not set aside any funds for mosquito control operations in 2010 as a result of adopting wide-ranging austerity measures to reduce budget deficit.

The news was announced Friday in Parliament by Bulgarian Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, answering a question by Socialist MP and former Interior Minister, Mihail Mikov.

“The policies of the government require austerity measures,” said Djankov explaining that in 2010 there will be on state-funded adulticiding of mosquitoes, i.e. ground-based or aerial application of chemical pesticides.

Thus, the only people around Bulgaria can enjoy the benefits of mosquito control as summer 2010 is kicking in is for the municipalities to set aside money for adulticiding from their own budgets.

Djankov did say that the regions along the Danube River will be allocated a joint subsidy that will have to be apportioned among the respective municipalities.

“This is crucial question because it is not just about a bad feeling of mosquito bites – mosquitoes also spread diseases and the people along the Danube are threatened,” insisted Mikov.

The Finance Minister pointed out, however, that the GERB government had considered the issue and had come up with the new mechanism for a joint subsidy in order to save money from the state budget by allocating funds for mosquito control to every single regional health inspectorate individually.

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