The creation of a new administrative model with the creation of an adhoc “Organization for the Reconstruction of Thessaly” in the model of “multilevel governance” for the Management of the Reconstruction Program of Thessaly that uses real-time management and decision-making systems was proposed by scientists, during an event held organized the Thessaly Branch of the Institute for Alternative Policies ENA, at the Chamber of Larissa.
This Organization will have a mixed composition of political oversight bodies with government and self-government representatives and will elaborate the central directions for the planning of reconstruction policies and their connection with national priorities.
In more detail, ENA’s event on the topic: “The bet of the reconstruction of flood-affected Thessaly – Framework, terms and schedule”, was a continuation of the previous one held last November on the topic “Thessaly after the floods: A first assessment” and aimed at investigating of the serious issue of the reconstruction of Thessaly from the point of view of the governance of the whole process.
The economic consequences are huge
In the first presentation, the agronomist, Dr. Soil Science, pr. director of the Institute of Industrial and Livestock Plants of ELGO “Dimitra”, Christos Tsantilas made an inventory of the effects of the Daniel and Elias floods on human lives, on housing and infrastructure, on the natural resources soil and water, on plant and animal production that translate into huge economic losses and social dramatic effects.
17 people lost their lives, hundreds of houses and various structures and infrastructures were destroyed and flooded, a large part of plant and animal production was destroyed, the natural resources soil and water were severely degraded, leaving the future of agriculture uncertain. In more detail in plant production, there was a total destruction of production in 1/3 of the cultivated area with cotton, maize, alfalfa, oilseed rape and industrial tomato, in tree crops and vines, while in animal production 85 thousand goats and sheep, 8 thousand cattle, 23, 5 thousand pigs, 260 thousand poultry, 12 thousand honeybees. Remedial measures were then proposed, referring to the flood protection of Thessaly, the restoration of basic infrastructure, the assurance of water for crop irrigation, the protection of soils, the restructuring of crops. The economic consequences are estimated at 2.5 billion euros and over time at 5 billion euros, while the effects on the country’s overall economy, over three years at 38 billion euros! The reduction of rural and urban income of Thessaly is taken for granted.
Then Mr. Tsantilas said that “the effects of floods on the land are very uneven and horizontal measures cannot be proposed. In the immediate measures, an inventory of disasters with reconnaissance soil studies is needed, drainage of flooded areas, restoration of agricultural roads, irrigation and drainage networks, drilling, restoration of soils in the sloping areas. In the medium and long-term measures, planning of agricultural production based on the new climate data, creation of a new updated soil map, demarcation and evaluation of Agricultural Land, creation of agro-climatic zones and crop restructuring”.
Government responsibilities
It was followed by the professor at the Department of Economic Sciences of the University of Macedonia and head of the Regional Development and Policy Research Unit, Lois Lambrianidis, a presentation with proposals for integrated mid- to long-term planning of the development of the region and the management of this ambitious goal. The pathogenesis and perennial problems of the Public Administration (Central and Local) and Greek society were analyzed which created stereotypes, consciousnesses, reactions and expectations that must be changed. The results were arbitrary construction by the State and Local Government, narrowing of estuaries in particular, covering and damming of streams to create roads, parking areas, etc., but also by private individuals on streams, on the waves, etc. Reference was also made to the government’s responsibilities for the way it dealt with the situation created after the floods. According to Mr. Lambrianidis “the disaster could not be completely avoided, but it could be mitigated.
It didn’t happen because there were oligarchy from the government and self-administration side and as a result of perennial problems of Greek society, but also of the Public Administration (Central and Local) that have been evolving for decades and have created consciousnesses, stereotypes, reactions and expectations that must change. Mr. Lambrianidis criticized the government because it decided that the problems arising from the floods in Thessaly will not be addressed with an integrated plan, but with the implementation of individual projects. The Ministry of Infrastructure has undertaken to play the first role and will be able to commission projects through express procedures. Funding for the projects will be based on a combination of donations and Recovery Fund resources. He assigned a study to the Dutch company HVA on water management, without substantial consultation, while the report is problematic. There was a lot of backlash against the Dutch Report, seriously questioning the validity of the study,” he concluded.
The management model
Finally, the president of the Administrative Chamber of Greece, Costas Papadimitriou, argued that experience has proven that authoritarian models are ineffective, since there is confusion of responsibilities, opacity, distance from society, while loose coordination models are equally ineffective.
The most ideal is a model of multi-level governance, with full activation of forces. It is necessary for the Region of Thessaly to decide on its own development, in cooperation with the Organization for the Reconstruction of Thessaly (special structure, increased powers, accountability and strict control), making use of the successful models of structures that exist mainly from 2004 onwards, the national institutional Local Government framework and the EU Regional Policy (Territorial Cohesion as a political equivalent of endogenous development theory).
G. Rustas
Tags: Thessaly Reconstruction Organization multilevel governance needed
