The Ioannina MP candidate of PASOK – Movement for Change, Thanasis Mandalovas, was at the Technical Chamber-Department of Epirus on Wednesday afternoon where he met with the president Yiannis Tsigros and the Steering Committee.
In the debate held, Mr. Mandalovas presented the harsh reality of the political mismatch between government announcements and projects, the stagnation in the execution of major infrastructure projects and the absence of an integrated and effective plan for Ioannina and Epirus.
At the beginning of the discussion, he raised the extremely worrying development of the cancellation of the tender for the project concerning the section of the Ionian Road, from Ioannina to Kakavia, while he pointed out that the government preferred, with the announcement of the tender and the abusive terms it contained, to put above the public interest of the people of Epirus and the region, the favorable service of a narrow circle of contractors, as typically stated in the reasons for canceling the tender.
“The cancellation of the tender for the even “short-cut” Yannena-Kakavia project, is a shocking proof of the incompetence and failure of the government of the “elite” and the “staff state”. 4 years later, unfortunately, it turns out that the government has not done the slightest thing for the immediate implementation of this project and is content simply with communication fiestas and false announcements”, stressed Mr. Mandalovas.
During the discussion, Mr. Mandalovas referred to all the issues concerning the regional unit of Ioannina, such as:
⁃ the cancellation of the promotion of the railway connection of Epirus, Ioannina and the port of Igoumenitsa with the rest of Greece, depriving Epirus of the possibility of an important development opportunity, such as that of combined freight transport
⁃ the fruitless and ineffective actions of issuing the Presidential Decree for the shielding of the lake and which unfortunately the government could not even complete the first step, as it leaves behind a meteoric and disputed Special Environmental Study
⁃ the indifference and stagnation in improving road access to border and remote areas, such as the Kalpaki-Konitsa projects and those improving access to Tzoumerka and Lakka Souli
⁃ the huge delays in the implementation of the Local Urban Planning Plan of the Municipality of Ioannita, as 4 years later not even the tender for the study has been held yet
“Epirus and Ioannina have not seen any major projects in recent years. The government has shown complete indifference to all major infrastructure projects.
Our region needs the effective and immediate implementation of new infrastructure, beneficial for the local community and the economy, especially now that we have at our disposal the financial tools of the new NSRF and the Recovery Fund.
The new parliamentary representation of the prefecture by PASOK must prioritize the financing and implementation of the specific projects”, said Mr. Mandalovas to the members of the Chamber’s Administration.
The president of the Chamber’s Steering Committee, as well as its members, presented – during the discussion – the permanent positions of the chamber, which they update, as mentioned, according to the demands and challenges of the time and it was found that apart from the common anxiety of all for the progress of the issues, there are many common positions and/or alignment of views on the issues discussed.
At the end of the debate, the candidate for parliament, Mr. Mandalovas, asked the President and the members of the Executive Committee of the Chamber, to make use of the institutional prestige of their Agency and, with their documented reason, to intensify their institutional interventions, taking the lead in routing and implementation of the major infrastructure projects concerning the society of Ioannina and Epirus, uniting their voice with other self-governing and productive bodies.
