Mitsotakis: The government will continue to support the citizens from the invasion of inflation

The exhaustion of fiscal margins in order for the government to support the citizens was repeated by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a broad meeting held in the vice-region Kefaloniawhile highlighting the “very strong headwinds” facing the global economy.

“The economy in our country is developing at a rapid pace largely as a result of the excellent tourist traffic and also the significant investments made in our country. Let us have no doubt, however, that we are facing very strong winds, which create a great degree of insecurity in the global economy. The cost of living, inflation, are phenomena which are global, they also hit the Greek economy, they also eat away at the Greek disposable income. That is why the government, through the state budget, will continue to exhaust the fiscal margins, in order to support the citizens to face this “invasion” of imported inflation which, today, creates many problems and several degrees of insecurity” he stressed.

Referring to the local problems, he noted that “there is an important project that is being carried out, in absolute coordination with the Region, but also with an excellent cooperation with the mayors” and underlined:

“We manage and heal past wounds. We are dealing with unprecedented natural disasters, which hit Kefalonia, but at the same time we are also laying the foundations for a sustainable development, always providing quality services to the residents of both islands, but also to the many visitors who choose Kefalonia and Ithaca as a holiday destination” .

The prime minister also referred to his visit to the General Hospital of Kefalonia, while promising that the outstanding issues of the past will be dealt with immediately. “I want to thank the health staff again, I saw very willing doctors, nurses, support staff who kept the hospital standing during the difficult years of the pandemic. We will be adding staff to the hospital. The relevant deputy minister has already drawn up the relevant plan. The long-suffering Intensive Care Unit, which has remained closed for many years, will finally be opened, not honoring in this way a very important donation made to the hospital. New emergency departments will be built, which I had the opportunity to see and I hope to have them ready before the end of the year. And, of course, the entire reconstruction and beautification of the hospital will be able to be included in the Recovery Fund, so that the old building does not fall short of the new wing, which is state-of-the-art, but under-functioning due to a lack of doctors”, he pointed out.

He also made special reference to the course of tourism and the upgrading of the relevant infrastructure of the island. “I am happy because tourism seems to be doing very well here in Kefalonia as well. The 14 regional airports which contributed so much to the upgrading of the tourism product of our country, were launched by the government of the New Democracy and completed by the government of the New Democracy, with the result that Kefalonia also has an entry gate equal to the quality it can offer the island in terms of its tourism product”, he noted.

The Prime Minister also said that his will is to set up a flexible committee under the Deputy Minister of State Christos Triandopoulos, which will deal specifically with the issues of Kefalonia and Ithaca “so that we can also support the Region, speed up a series of restoration projects, because we can certainly move faster and still correct damages that come from the past”.

Mr. Mitsotakis addressed the issues of civil protection and especially the prevention of natural disasters from which Kefalonia has suffered. “Indeed, Kefalonia is the center of our orientation for a political protection that will have a holistic character and will be able to cover all the wrong possibilities that may happen to us and which we now know that especially in the flood issues may be more often than in the past. We are still being asked to fix and deal with problems from the earthquake of 2014. I will say it, you said it too, there were too many delays from the previous government. Essentially very little has been done,” the Prime Minister emphasized and added: “We are struggling to make up lost ground here, but we will need a more holistic approach to civil protection issues that also covers seismic issues. We already have a lot of experience there, but we will also include the element of prevention in the way we manage natural disasters. We have work to do in the streams. It is something that will concern us in the future due to the special geomorphology of the area. And of course, in matters of prevention, I cannot leave out the issues concerning forest fires. I think you have also realized that there is another level of preparation this year which started much earlier, with preventive actions that took place in many forests of the country. But emphasizing mainly the quick attack of the fire, before it takes dimensions that will make it very difficult to control afterwards. Of course, we are still at the beginning of August and a great deal of attention and vigilance is required from all agencies.”

The deputy minister of health, Mina Gaga, the deputy minister of the interior, Stelios Petsas, the deputy minister of welfare and social solidarity Domna Michailidou, the deputy minister responsible for infrastructure matters, Giorgos Karagiannis, the deputy minister with responsibility participated in the meeting and analyzed the government policies for the region. in Matters of State Aid and Restoration from Natural Disasters, Christos Triandopoulos and the Member of Parliament for Kefalonia and Ithaca of the ND, Panagis Kappatos.

Also participating were the mayors of Argostoli Theofilos Michalatos, Lixouri Giorgos Katsivelis, Samis Gerasimos Monias and Ithakis Dionysis Stanitsas, who during their presentations highlighted the problems faced by the municipalities of Kefalonia and Ithaca.

From the Region, the Regional Governor of the Ionian Islands, Rodi Kratsa, the Rural Vice-Regional Governor of Kefallinia and Ithaca, Stavros Travlos, the Thematic Vice-Regional Governor for Agricultural Economy and Rural Development, Efstathios Kouris, the Thematic Vice-Regional Governor for Infrastructure and Technical Works, Emmanuel Orfanoudakis and the Prefect of Ithaca, Athanasios Livitsanis.

Also present was the commander of the Public Employment Service, Spyros Protopsaltis.

Visit to the City Hall of Argostoli…

After the meeting in the building of the Vice-region, the Prime Minister visited the City Hall of Argostoli where the commander of the Public Employment Service, Spyros Protopsaltis and the mayor of Argostoli, Theofilos Michalatos, signed a contract for the 15-year concession of the OAED property which is currently not being used in the Municipality. for the accommodation of a kindergarten, which was a request of the municipal authorities.

“I am happy when public property is used for a good purpose and when it is given, especially when it comes to such sensitive issues as pre-school education. It is important to house a kindergarten in a space which until today was practically unused”, said the Prime Minister.

Afterwards, Kyriakos Mitsotakis went to the port of Argostoli, where he was informed about the ongoing restoration projects, due to the damage caused by the 2014 earthquake.

At the same time, the update of the master plan for the port and the plan for the relocation of its commercial section to the opposite coast of the gulf, in Drapanos, were examined, as requested by the Municipality of Argostoli.

In this way, the urban fabric will be decongested by the traffic of large vehicles, improving the everyday life of citizens and road safety, while at the same time the construction of another pier in the existing infrastructure is planned to enable the reception of more cruise ships, as part of the planning to upgrade the whole of Kefalonia on the cruise map in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis was also informed about the study being prepared regarding the Lixouri Port Development Project Framework, in order to upgrade it and make it a modern port.

RES-EMP

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