Yiannis Roupa for the Administrative and Financial report of the Trade Association

The position of Yannis Roupas at the Annual General Meeting of the Trade Association for the Administrative and Financial report of 2023

“The trade and small business that we represent in this association is being attacked from everywhere. We have been moving in recent years in a difficult economic environment, both nationally and globally, while at the same time we have to deal with all the tax and insurance reforms that are implemented rapidly and make our work more and more difficult.

We, as Commercial Renewal, with our interventions during 2023 highlighted the problems, submitted our proposals to the Board of Directors and actively participated in all the affairs of the association, representing all our colleagues.
The trade association must take an active role in the interest of local businesses.

Unfortunately, in 2023 the club’s board could not rise to the occasion.

I will not go into the process of commenting on the actions of the club’s management because nothing happened at all!!

The Trade association did not expand by registering new members but at the same time remained inactive in activating the old members. He did not deal with the liquidation of the register of members, as the Vagenas-Zafiropoulos factions, which continue to exercise exclusive control to this day, had initially committed in their programmatic declarations. Emporiki

Renewed since the beginning of her tenure insists that the trade association must open its doors and expand.

During 2023, no sub-project of the open mall was implemented, an important project for the Patrimonial trade, which would have already been lost, with any consequences for the club, if it had not been extended at the last moment for another year, until the end of 2024. Besides the president himself, Mr. Zafeiropoulos, had sounded the alarm in a previous council about the non-implementation of the project.

There was zero interest in the club’s property. Our building is clearly neglected even though it was recently renovated with funding from the Greek State and supervised by a qualified engineer. Even for the insurance coverage of the building, which as we speak today is underinsured, no one bothered despite our suggestions a year ago.

No event of a charitable nature was implemented beyond the sending of two pallets of water, of zero value to the flood victims.

No action was taken on the unfair competition of the multinationals and the new Avex shopping center, despite the president’s assurances, when the trade renewal proposed a script.

Participated but did not take the lead in any strike mobilization by clearly highlighting the problems of local trade and this alone. It was limited to friendly participations in strike mobilizations of other bodies. Unheard of!! The trade association, the city’s largest and most historic association, became a comparasist of other organizations in strike mobilizations with completely different demands.

Finally, something more important that is also included in the 2023 planning and proves the administration’s inaction: For the first time in the history of the club, there was no pie-cutting event for the members of the club! You honorable gentlemen past presidents remember when the club did not cut a pie for its members?

Perhaps in the club’s minutes for 2023 you should have stated:
1. the incompetence of the administration, as it was evident that during the last six months the president Mr. Zafeiropoulos and the treasurer had been left alone and acted without any help from the other members of the board. Even in the celebration of our patron Agios Nikolaos Karpenisiotis, 10 members of the board shone through their absence.

2. You should have referred to the resignation of the current general secretary Mr. Solomos from the position of Special Secretary on June 23 and his public statements, in which he found that nothing is working properly in the club criticizing the faction with which he was elected as well as the faction of Mr. Vagena.

3. No mention was made of the repeated absences from the boards of the former general secretary who finally tendered his resignation in December even as a member of the club!

4. You did not refer to the consultations of Mr. Solomos and Mr. Vagenas’ team regarding the removal of Mr. Zafeiropoulos from the position of president.

I don’t want to bore you, I chose to tell you the most important things that prove in practice that the club is still being managed in the wrong way. And because many of you will say trade renewal only makes opposition? I will answer you categorically NO. There was a willingness to get involved personally and I proved it in practice with my candidacy for the position of general secretary, which was not supported by all those who wanted a cross-factional presidency… As a result, it appeared that a cross-factional presidency was simply for the sake of impressions! They consider us undesirable because we stand for something different, we stand for the renewal and organization of the club, we want a modern democratic club with transparent decision-making processes open to traders and society and maybe that bothers them.

I will not dwell on the financial report, I must congratulate all the members of the audit committee and especially Mrs. Kolliopoulos, a member of our combination, for the excellent work done in this report. I am sure that a simple reading of the report will convince you that it was the first time in recent years that the audit committee carried out a substantial audit for the benefit of our association.

We, as a commercial renewal, do not consent to sponsorships for the provision of meals to the Peloponnese federation, we do not consent to the free provision of the meeting room to various entities serving personal acquaintances and public relations, we do not consent to the free provision of the association’s offices and indeed a financially difficult period for the our club. Of course I have to exclude from the above the association of retired merchants who rightfully should have accommodation without any charge within our association.

In short, as we pointed out last year, our club’s coffers are constantly decreasing, a 25 percent reduction in funds within one year and the possibility of not being able to fulfill the club’s obligations visible until the end of 2024. The commercial renewal, from last year general meeting has already sounded the alarm and it is now obvious that if immediate measures are not taken, our Historical Association is in danger of financial collapse”.

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