Mitsotakis – Everyone will have a dividend from the new growth dynamics in the Greek economy

“We have the opportunity to make a big growth leap. And in this developmental leap the primary sector should be the protagonist. This government is judged more by deeds and less by words. We will not tell you things we can not do. We will not be able to say yes to all the demands but to the fair demands that we are committed to fulfilling, rest assured, that that which we say we are able to do,” stressed Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a meeting that Farsala had with young farmers and representatives of local bodies at the City Hall.

During the meeting he had the opportunity to discuss the grid of projects that have been done and continue to be done to repair the damage from “Janos”, but also about the government’s initiatives to support the rural people throughout the country, as reported in relevant announcement. The representatives of the local bodies thanked the Prime Minister for the immediate response to the restoration of the damages caused by Janos. “We occupied the state next to us from day one,” said a young farmer in the area.

“Development will concern all Greeks”

Referring to the announcements in his speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, explained the overall framework of government policy. “Development means more wealth for the country. It means more budgetary margins and allows us to implement our central pre-election commitment that the development we will launch will affect all Greeks. And let everyone have a dividend from this new development dynamic which is being launched in the Greek economy. These are measures that are part of an overall reform plan for how we will modernize the overall infrastructure of the Greek economy. And this largely concerns the primary sector as well,” he said characteristically.

Rehabilitative actions

The Prime Minister spoke about this year’s disasters caused by the floods and the response of the state mechanism. “Immediately after storm Ianos, we flew by helicopter over the area and were then shocked by the extent of the disaster. And when we landed in Karditsa and made the first meeting, I saw in the eyes of the citizens the frustration, the rage, but also the disbelief towards our intentions to heal the wounds of Ianos as soon as possible and in a different way than we faced such natural disasters in the past. I believe that a year later, we will have won this bet. I will not say we won, yet. We will win it. The people of Thessaly, who were hit by Ianos, felt the state next to them,” he said.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis enumerated in detail the restoration actions that have been implemented. “For the first time, compensations were disbursed so quickly and the local government, of course, is well aware that it has never before managed such resources at such a high speed. Indicatively, I mention that the Municipality of Farsala was granted emergency funding amounting to 4.5 million euros, while the Region has so far been given 55 million euros, 55 million euros for infrastructure projects, not just to repair those that were destroyed, but to do better. And of course to this I will add the compensations, which were given by agricultural compensation organization ELGA, but also the disbursement of 55% in terms of compensations that concern the companies. The Regional Governor is right to say that for the first time such amounts were disbursed, so quickly and at this percentage,” he stressed.

The Prime Minister also spoke about the creation of a legal aid framework which is used to provide immediate support in case of natural disasters. “I want to personally thank Christos Triantopoulos. And I think you all owe him a big thank you, because beyond his formal responsibility, he pored over the problem and helped us to have a legal framework of state aid, which is significantly improved compared to what we inherited and in fact, which we are constantly improving,” he said.

“We will heal the wounds  caused by Ianos

“For example, in the great catastrophe of Evia, we found that it is much more effective to integrate all the platforms into one and to disburse an amount very quickly to the people who lost their homes and property. So we are constantly trying to get better, but we now have a mechanism that allows us to intervene and heal the damage caused by natural disasters that unfortunately as we see will visit us more and more often,” said the Prime Minister.

“We are here to help heal the wounds opened by Ianos,” said the Deputy Minister of Interior Stelios Petsas, emphasizing that the integration of the project of 22 million euros for the irrigation within the Antonis Tritsis program. “Also, the programs you have submitted will go through the evaluations immediately, as we have discussed,” the Deputy Minister of Interior also noted.

“From the first moments we were here, this whole process has a long horizon, there are many projects that we are here to put forward,” said the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister, in charge of State Aid and Rehabilitation from Natural Disasters, Christos Triantopoulos.

“We saw the state by our side”

The representatives of the local bodies and the young farmers who took the floor thanked the Prime Minister and the ministers present for the immediate response to the needs created by “Ianos”. “We saw the stateby our side since day one,” said a local farmer.

At the same time, the participants in the meeting at the City Hall stressed the need to proceed with the construction of the Skopia Dam, telling the Prime Minister that “if it happens we will call it the Mitsotakis Dam” as, as they said, it is the only project that will keep farmers in the area.

“The dam on the Enipeas river is a dam of key importance, of national importance. I give you my personal assurance that I will monitor it myself, we will adhere to the relevant schedules and the whole process of the relevant tender, the assignment, the announcement and the assignment of the project will be done as soon as possible,” said the Prime Minister.

The Skopia Dam

The planned Skopia Dam, on the Enipeas River, with an estimated budget of 100 million euros, will serve the rural economy of Farsala and the water supply needs of the area, while it will also have a multifaceted “green” footprint.

The main purpose of the project is to irrigate about 10,000 hectares of land for their efficient cultivation, at a lower cost. At the same time, the dam will provide water to the city of Farsala and a number of settlements in the area, with a population of about 10,000 inhabitants.

The dam will help rehabilitate the area’s groundwater, reducing over-pumping, and will serve small hydropower plants for energy production.

The project, which will be implemented through a PPP, has already been characterized as National Level, Special and Important by decision of the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Costas Karamanlis. According to the plan, the first phase of the tender is expected to be announced by the end of 2021.

In the square of Farsala
Immediately after the discussion at the City Hall, the Prime Minister went through the shops in the main streets of Farsala and talked to shopkeepers. Then, in the central square, the residents welcomed him with applause and the Prime Minister, together with the Mayor of Farsala, Iordanis Eskioglou, had the opportunity to talk to young people in a central cafe.

The discussion that took place at the City Hall of Farsala was attended by the Deputy Minister of Interior Stelios Petsas, the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister, in charge of State Aid and Rehabilitation from Natural Disasters, Christos Triantopoulos as well as the Larissa MPs Llis

Also present were the Governor of Thessaly Costas Agorastos, the Mayor of Farsala Iordanis Eskioglou, the Deputy Mayors Sofia Hatzipli, Evangelia Hamourousiou, Konstantinos Balatsos and Dimitris A, President FKA Damianos, the municipal councilors Christos Basagiannis, Stavros Koukoulios, Despina Syropoulou and Costas Brozos, the President of Farsala Dora Prekate, the President of TOEB Farsala Tassos Drachganas and the leaders of Kapalios Maripali