Chair of Bulgaria's National Audit Office to be Replaced

Valeri Dimitrov, Chair of Bulgaria's National Audit Office, will most probably be replaced due to the legal amendments, despite the fact that his term in office expires in 2017. Photo by BGNES

Valeri Dimitrov, Chair of Bulgaria's National Audit Office, will most probably be replaced due to legal amendments concerning the structure of the authority.

On Wednesday, MPs from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and liberal party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) submitted a set of amendments to the National Audit Office Act.

Yordan Tsonev, Chair of the parliamentary budget committee, explained that the previous structure of the National Audit Office would be reinstated, making it a collegiate body.

Tsonev, as cited by investor.bg, informed that the current staff of the National Audit Office would be changed if the bill was passed.

He announced that the National Audit Office would consist of a Chair and eight members, auditors, who would review audit reports collectively and adopt them by a majority vote.

He also made clear that the members of the National Audit Office would be elected (or dismissed) by Parliament for 7-year terms in office.

"As of 2010, the National Audit Office turned into a one-man authority with one Chairperson. We are raising the bar, its members will be required to have professional experience of 15 years and to not have served terms as MPs or representatives of the executive branch or of local authorities in the past three years" Tsonev explained.

The National Audit Office is currently headed by a Chairperson, Valeri Dimitrov, who has two deputies.

Dimitrov was elected Chair of the National Audit Office in 2005 during the term in office of the three-way coalition government and was reelected by the center-right GERB government.

His 6-year term in office expires in 2017 and the terms in office of his two deputies expire in 2018.

The legal amendments seek to boost the efficiency of oversight of public spending, including in the sphere of public procurement, and to curb corruption, identified as a "major problem for central and local authorities."

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