Water management and culture lead to “conflicts” in accountability!
Water management and culture brought “conflicts” to accountability!
Although students returned to school yesterday with the start of the new school year, the Ioannina Municipal Authority was the one called to solve equations during yesterday’s accountability meeting, responding to questions posed by opposition factions.
As already reported, the discussion during the accountability meeting was “lively” at times, although the boundaries were not exceeded as in previous sessions.
One of the issues that took center stage was the planning of a new pricing policy with social justice criteria, following a question by the head of the “Beautiful City of Ioannina” faction, Pantelis Kolokas.
According to George Papadiotis, the President of the DEYAI, any decision to change the price of water will be made solely by the Municipal Council, following a recommendation from the DEYAI and based on an updated study in progress.
He stated that the municipal company is institutionally obligated to make changes, like all DEYAs in the country, based on the new legislative act which stipulates that the price of water should be such that it recovers 100% of its production cost.
He invoked social justice for the need for changes, as distortions and injustices were created since 2010 when Kallikratis was implemented.
Works until spring
Meanwhile, the issue of maintenance and operational matters concerning the Ismini Tzavella Mansion, where the Historical Archive of the Municipality of Ioannina is housed, was discussed following a question by the head of the major opposition, Dimitris Papageorgiou.
Deputy Mayor Kostas Gogos reminded that a total of 18 restoration and study interventions were carried out since 2014, which faced significant problems, delivering a building in very good condition at the time.
Deputy Mayor Georgia Gioti mentioned the damage suffered by the building due to the flood of November 2019, emphasizing that the previous municipal authority did not proceed with substantial restoration. She stated that extensive works are planned for the full restoration of the floors, with projects to be assigned to be implemented in the spring of 2026.
Four cultural axes!
Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Minas Paschopoulos presented the planning of the Municipal Authority, which is based on four main cultural policy axes.
Specifically, these include the enhancement of the structures of the Municipality and strengthening their presence, as well as a variety of events, including concerts, theatrical performances, film screenings, dedications to artists, and gastronomy festivals.
Furthermore, cooperation is envisaged with institutional bodies such as the PIOP, the Ephorate of Antiquities, the School of Fine Arts, as well as the new collaboration with the National Lyric Scene, while the establishment of one or two major festivals that will highlight Ioannina at a national and international level is sought. Regarding the Castle Rock Festival, it was emphasized that it faces serious sustainability issues, limited audience turnout, and complaints about the exclusion of bands.
The “jab” from Begas…
It is known that the Mayor of Ioannina, Thomas Begas, every time he is called upon to explain an issue, redirects his arrows towards the previous municipal authority.
As he stated in yesterday’s meeting, the previous municipal “co-governance” abolished two serious festivals, the It’s Kale and the Festival of Ancient Drama of Dodoni, which had started to gain momentum.