Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, is infamous for its broken paving stones and practically unpassable sidewalks – a nightmare for mothers with prams, disabled people and anyone unfortunate enough to stumble on a semi-detached tile or a gaping hole while they walk.

Photo: Martin Dimitrov, BIRN.

But recent unprofessional repair work to a major street has caused public anger as well as a small protest on Friday, when 300 people gathered in front of the Sofia municipality building, demanding the resignation of those responsible for the maintenance work.

Photo: Martin Dimitrov, BIRN.

Although Sofians are used to badly maintained sidewalks and roads, the most recent repair work to one of the central streets of the city – Graf Ignatiev – was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Photo: Martin Dimitrov, BIRN.

Even to the untrained eye, the repairs look wholly unprofessional. Moreover, it cost not much below 12 million euros, and closed one of the main arteries in the city over the summer, blocking a busy tram route and making traffic unbearable.

Photo: Martin Dimitrov, BIRN.

When some of the side panels concealing the repairs that are still in progress were removed, it released a wave of anger and mockery from citizens.

Dozens of online memes circulated over social media, with many people going on a “city tour” of repair sites to take pictures.

Photo: Martin Dimitrov, BIRN.

At first, the Mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova, from the ruling GERB party, brushed aside the claims of unprofessionalism, writing on Facebook that the citizens need to wait until the end of the repair work before casting judgment.

Photo: Martin Dimitrov, BIRN.

A day later, however, she changed her tone, admitted that the repair work was “sub-quality” and said the company undertaking them – GP Group, which has recently been linked to a number of high-profile scandals – may be fined by up to half a million euros if it does not repair the repairs.

Photo: Martin Dimitrov, BIRN.

GP Group is one of the big winners of infrastructural public procurements in Sofia. It was also linked to the September 13 arrest of Attila Biro, from the Romanian investigative platform Rise Project, and his Bulgarian colleague, Dimitar Stoyanov, from the Bivol website.

They were investigating the alleged destruction of documents related to the misuse of EU funds by consultancies and companies connected to the infrastructure firm.

Photo: Martin Dimitrov, BIRN.

Asked why a certain type of tile was used to cover the square in front of the St Sedmochislenitsi church, the lead architect of the project, Ivo Panteleev, said they were selected “because they are pretty and I like them. I am project leader and I have that right”.

He called critical citizens who mocked the repairs “one-hundred percent haters”, according to Dnevnik.bg.

Photo: Martin Dimitrov, BIRN.

The GERB branch in Sofia has defended their mayor and counter-attacked the protesters for allegedly being part of “the biggest pogrom in the modern history of Sofia”.

Read more:

Three Bulgarian Ministers Quit Over Fatal Coach Crash

Bulgarians Protest Against Investigative Reporters’ Arrests