[ad_1]
When masks are mandatory, should the state provide them?
This specific topic came to the fore today after famous lawyer Marin Markovski presented a rather curious reading of the Health Law. According to him, the law establishes that state and municipal authorities must create the necessary conditions for the implementation of anti-epidemic measures. Supposedly, they have to hand over masks to the citizens themselves.
Let’s put aside the fact that the Health Law does not say exactly that and the lawyer’s words are a fairly free and open interpretation of the normative texts. Let’s think for a moment what would actually happen if the state were to provide us with masks.
It is clear that for some people such an idea may sound good, since the state forces us to wear masks in the name of general health, to provide them. It is up to the authorities to invent such nonsense to occupy the people!
The problem with this logic is that the State tends to do things in its own way, which in 9 out of 10 cases, to put it mildly, cannot be defined as the most appropriate. Or adequate at all.
Suppose the Ministry of Health still decides to apply this sensual idea to masks in practice. Here is an example scenario of how this situation will play out:
Beginnings of November. According to a good administrative tradition, public procurement always begins. However, for its drafting, a special government commission must first be created with the participation of representatives from the ministries of health, economy and finance.
Once established, its officials discuss extensively all the conditions that need to be taken into account. And so, at least 4-5 meetings, at least 4-5 weeks …
The Ministry of Health gives the technological parameters that the masks must meet, the financial disputes over the price, and the economic one tries to prove more favorable conditions for some “our” company to obtain an advantage.
Of course, a separate budget is also allocated for information services. That additional competition can be made for a logo, it should be clear that the masks were purchased with state funds.
Once the order has been prepared, companies can request it within a week. Another week to eliminate very bad and unacceptable offers and an additional seven days to determine the final winner, the one who finally offered the lowest price. It may be unrealistically low, but everyone is sure there will be new ex post facto final estimates.
From Wednesday until the end of December, maybe after the new year. The selected winner agrees to make the required number of masks according to the instructions of the Ministry of Health.
The result is that the company orders 12 million disposable masks from China of the same size (cheaper). According to the documents, they were produced somewhere near Pleven and, according to the invoice, their price is three times higher than what is actually paid.
As the shipment is from China, the masks are delayed for 2 months, during which the winning company of the order is justified with a shortage of materials due to the global crisis.
Turns out, for an already paid shipment, an American company paid double and ultimately received the batch. China promises to send new masks, almost out of money. The contractor takes note of the additional cost and forwards it to the state to update the price due.
Mid March 2021 The masks have already arrived in Bulgaria. It turns out that the Chinese actually sent only one size – children. The number is also confusing: a little over 6 million pieces instead of the 12 million ordered, nothing, just one per capita. Nobody talks about punitive clauses in the contract. Such in our country is more likely to pay the guarantor, that is. taxpayers than the wrong side.
Disputes begin over how exactly to distribute the masks to citizens. It is proposed that this be done in conjunction with pensions at local post offices, as well as at special points at the offices of the winning company of the contest. It has 2 offices in the country, one in Sofia and one in Parvomay.
No one is happy with the idea, but there are no other ideas anyway, so this one was adopted unanimously. Parvomay is fast becoming a highly desired destination for camouflaged tourism.
The second half of April 2021 The masks are distributed in the Bulgarian Post offices free of charge with three names, PIN, contact telephone number and signature. Someone shouldn’t take it a second time and fuck each other … About 60,000 people wear the proper masks, most of them retired. The rest, all that remain, already have masks or have cleared the virus 2-3 times, or anyway.
Those who remove the state masks find that they are undone on the second or third use. Normal: After all, they are disposable protective devices for children made in China.
Some of the masks even dispose of themselves while in warehouses of the company that won the order. However, these warehouses are already needed by the next trading company and the company delivers the remaining several million masks to the state to take care of as it knows.
June 2021 The virus has again reduced its strength and the number of infected is decreasing. The Speaker of the National Assembly, Tsveta Karayancheva, decided to donate the remaining 2 million still healthy masks to the nursing homes in Kardzhali.
August 2021 The entire campaign to provide state masks ends with a public relations campaign and a series of paid media posts, emphasizing the success of the entire effort. Congratulations to the winners!
