Georgiadis – Accountability when the fires end – What he said about the support measures

The Minister of Development and Investment, Adonis Georgiadis stressed the imputation of responsibilities when the fires end, among other things, speaking to the television station Mega. “There are responsibilities and they will be attributed as soon as the phenomenon ends,” he said characteristically.

“I do not have the operational responsibility to make an analysis, but I can talk about the objective responsibility that a government has in such a disaster. Our country has gone through a great ordeal, a great calamity. I hear the argument that the whole Mediterranean is on fire, but every government has to deal with what is happening in its own country. The prime minister will take responsibility when the time comes. Now we still have fires,” said Mr. Georgiadis.

Regarding how the responsibilities will be assigned, and whether resignations are expected to take place, he said that “Mr. Mitsotakis himself said that when this story ends, he will attribute responsibilities where they should be attributed. He will announce his decisions to us. I have dealt with the financial part “.

Causes of fires and errors

Asked if he thought if there were any mistakes or omissions in dealing with the fires, Mr Georgiadis said: “I can not criticize, I was not there. Those who have the overall responsibility, were in the operations centers and knew the situation, they can explain to you what happened. What has been explained by Mr. Hardalias and others, is that the wind that blows in one area is one thing, and the wind that blows over the fire is another thing. The major issue was the prolonged high temperature that had preceded. We had ten days of heat, the pines were dry, the fire started and spread “.

“I understand what the fire victims said at the time of the disaster”

Commenting on what residents of the areas affected by the fires said, that they had no support, did not have support of aerial means and were left alone to their fate, Mr. Georgiadis noted that: “What the residents who are being destroyed say, they say well. It makes sense for everyone who sees themselves destroyed to blame the government or whoever is standing in front of them. They are right a thousand times. That the state did not make efforts is not real, we all understand that. There were many outbreaks, the front was many kilometers wide, especially in Evia, and a pine forest was burning “.

“I do not understand why the fact that we did not mourn human victims is underestimated”

“That we have not mourned human victims is a success. I do not understand why this is underestimated. It is a very big thing. We have had fires that have killed many people. There has been great damage to people’s property that will be compensated immediately, and great disaster to the natural environment, for which we must all work to reverse it. That happened. These are not the first fires we have lived through in Greece. I do not remember a summer without fires. We need to understand the measure. Yes it was a big disaster, yes there are responsibilities, we have apologized and the responsibilities will be attributed. Residents at the time of their disaster have every right to say whatever they want. Obviously when your house burns down, you blame the one who rules. It is a very logical reaction. They do well to shout,” he added.

Targeted support measures

“The measures have been announced. We are voting for an extension of the public investment program by 500 million euros. On August 18, the electronic platform will be operational where the victims can enter to apply for compensation. The first payment will be made within ten days of the application and with minimal bureaucracy. From the Ministry of Development we will write off all the debts in the previous cycles of the “I save” program in the affected areas. For Istiaia and Mantoudi, while in the rest of the country the victims will receive compensation, in these municipalities the measures are horizontal, regardless of whether the citizens have been harmed. It is also important that the Prime Minister chose a person of common acceptance to coordinate the relevant actions for the rebirth of the region, Mr. Benos”, Mr. Georgiadis explained about the compensations to the fire victims.

“We hear new fake news every day “

“This is not a time for political confrontation. Whether the measures are sufficient will be judged in practice. The criterion will be the people who have been affected. Every day we have some new fake news. Yesterday we woke up to the interview of the commander of the Romanian firefighters who allegedly said that the fire could have been extinguished in one day. They [Romanian firefighters] came out on their own and denied it, but the news ran for many hours on the internet. Today I read that they beat Simo Kedikoglou in Evia. Again the news played for many hours until it was refuted. The worst thing I read is that the reason the fires broke out in northern Evia was to put up wind turbines. People should know that wind turbines do not need deforestation. They are legally settled in the forest areas. Mr. Tsipras has left Mr. Polakis fishing in the murky waters of conspiracy theology. The same thing happened with vaccines. Residents of Evia must understand that wind turbines are not their problem, nor is there a conspiracy to burn forests in the midst of climate change,” said Mr. Georgiadis, referring to the government’s criticism of disaster management.

Finally, answering why the compensations do not reach 100% of the damage, he explained: “We give 70% compensation to the company if it has burned. The company also has a degree of antiquity, not everything is new. It is state money, taxpayer money. Everyone will see that the measures we took and the speed of disbursement will be unprecedented and judge us. And then we can accept the harshest criticism, if what we say ids not put into practice “.

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