Questions about the return of 100% of the Velissario camp to the municipality

The narrative of the previous municipal authority based on the prime ministerial commitment received by the mouth of Kyriakos Mitsotakis twice before the election… that the camp of Velissari will fall to 100% of its area in the Municipality of Ioannito, is directly disputed by Mayor Thomas Begas, citing the correspondence that existed in the previous months between TETHA and the municipal authority of Papageorgiou.

Answering a question about the developments surrounding the concession of the Velissario camp made by the former Mayor and head of the faction “Yannena Nea Epochi” Dimitris Papageorgiou, the Mayor emphasized that a long effort has been made to collect all the elements of the case and he himself has taken the initiative together with the president of the parliament and MP for Ioannina, Kostas Tassoulas, in order to clarify the situation.

Mr. Begas noted, however, that with what has been distributed so far between the two agencies, it does not appear from anywhere that we are talking about granting 100% of the camp to our Municipality. He repeated this twice. Also, a letter from the negotiating member of the Ministry of Defense to the previous Mayor D. Papageorgiou was cited, in which the latter was accused of having “falsified the reality” through public statements made by the former Mayor to the municipal council… The latter disputed this Mr. Papageorgiou and the continuation will be given at a subsequent meeting of the municipal council, most likely the one of accountability.

Fire protection

The Mayor also referred to the issue of property fire protection, stressing that this is a classic case of transfer of responsibilities from the state with criminal responsibilities and no resources to the self-government. “The issue is critical. The local government does not refuse to cooperate in matters of civil protection, but such issues are not resolved on the spot. At the meeting of the Board of Directors the KEDE unanimously decided to request the suspension of the application for this year’s fire season as well as the payment to the municipalities of the necessary resources so that the municipalities can respond to the responsibilities assigned to them”, said Mr. Begas, among other things.