This is what is the article:

 It is well known now that EYDAP and EYATH assets have been and are to be transferred to the Superfund:  accordingly the water of the two major urban centers of the country is in danger of becoming prey in the clutches of “water barons”. Obviously, by controlling water services a greater degree of dependency, impoverishment and actual enslavement of people can be achieved.

But what is exactly happening with the waters in Greece outside the two major urban centres?

Water services in the provinces  are run by municipal enterprises, known by the general acronym DEYA. These enterprises are of contributory, self-funded character and are supervised by the corresponding municipalities of their regions of operations. DEYA enterprises were established in 1980, in order to take responsibility of water supply and sewage in remote regions off the central government; their role in local communities has been proved particularly important. They operated as pillars of the development of the aforementioned regions, by the employment (at an astonishing – 95% – absorption rate) of large funds from European investment programs. They also contributed significantly to the environmental protection, by the installation and operation of 250 wastewater treatment facilities. They are responsible for water supply and sewage of distant, sparsely populated, poor areas, ignoring the cost-benefit balance. They are, also, structures that defend public health by ensuring water supplies of excellent characteristics. Overall, they are local enterprises with a humanitarian attitude, having institutionalized social tariffs for vulnerable groups, thus ensuring for them the right to life. As the type of water management (tariffs – quality – social policy) which the mayors adopt can be a crucial factor for their re-election, there exists always a social control which can enforce democracy to the management.  Finally, they are small or medium sized businesses (132 in total, employing 4500 workers), which provide water and sewage to the most beautiful locations of Greece, by protecting their natural wealth, as well as the largest water reserves in the country.

In the post-memoranda Greece of the last six years, the DEYA enterprises have been devalued, under the pretext of limiting fiscal deficit. Nowadays they are becoming under staffed, sold by the day, piece-by-piece at the same time outsourcing important services to private contractors (as for example water treatment facilities, breakdown recovery services, water consumption measurements services, accounting). Due to this costs rise while the quality of services decays.

What is more important (and dangerous) is that due to recent policies an enterprise can be declared unsustainable if it presents negative balance sheets in three continuous years: in such a case a simple majority of the municipal council suffices for the transfer of the enterprise even without compensation. The question reasonably arises how long will a DEYA be sustainable, when operating exclusively with contractors? Should DEYA stop the water and sewage services to distant, sparsely populated villages, as such services are definitely not profitable? Will the privatization of EYDAP work as a Trojan horse for further privatization of the DEYA enterprises? Of course DEYAs are not financially dependent on the State/Central Government therefore they do not, in any way whatsoever, contribute to the public debt; they are financed by citizens and therefore they belong to them; however they are equally restricted in (actually barred from) recruiting any new personnel, which means that over time their already limited resources will reach zero.

What is not known in urban centers is that, on the pretext of water resources protection, all traditional and modern wells in the province, even handheld pumps of house yards (under the threat of 2000 euro fine) have to be filed with the central authorities. Rainwater storage tanks kept by farmers have been banned. Farmers are mandated to install water meters in line shafts’ sections of their fields.

The imposition of the environmental fee which will apply from 2017 and on (on the pretext of “protection of water resources”),will apply to urban-, rural-, and any other water use that can be priced, therefore be bought and sold, or disposed for a price.

As a conclusion I think we should all realize the dangers looming over the waters of the whole country (urban, rural, water resources) and form a common front of resistance to that. United and determined to oppose global capitals, for which human life has no value.

Because, fighting for water is a struggle for life and democracy.

Stavroula Symeonidou

Board Member of the Pan-hellenic Federation of DEYA Workers

President of the Union of Workers at DEYA of the City of Drama

The City Council of Tyrnavos, in its 13th meeting (04-10-2016) with its decision, no. 239/2016

DECIDES IN MAJORITY:

The City Council of Tyrnavos is against the commercialization of water and sanitation  services because this is not for the benefit of the public interest.

The council claims that:

-The water is a common that cannot be commercialized.

-The access to the drinking water and the quality of services of water supply and seweage are indisputable rights for all citizens, strongly linked to the right for life, hygiene and human dignity.

–EYDAP must remain a public organization to service the society and it must not be transformed to a means for the profit of private interests.

-Whenever there was an attempt to sell public services of water supplies to private interests ,there was a failure due to dramatic increases of prices and dramatic decrease of water quality and consequently, the return of the water services management to either the municipality or the state became unavoidable.

-Within the framework of the upcoming constitutional revision, the social control and the public sector management of the water should be legally ensured.

To a sad demonstration of the quality of the Rule of Law in our country, this draft is being promoted after the failed and persistent effort of domestic and foreign interests for the immediate and full privatization of water services in Greece and unfortunately results in similar consequences to home and other consumers who are now required to pay newly invented “costs” that bring us all face to face not only with the full commercialization of water services but also with that of our water as a resource.

Of course, this irrational and non-scientific attempt to put a “price tag to nature” by assigning “costs” to the preservation of ecosystems and water resources is not an invention of the Greek ministry but is a consistent pursuit of those multinational companies which use “eco-friendly” rhetoric in order to create an “ecosystems market” and even a “water market”, similar to that of Co2 emissions that we have by now evidenced how little it helped to reduce them.

These interests through their lobbyists have managed to “influence” the European Commission’s decisions and thus with the art. 9 of Directive 2000/60/EC, to which the national law is aligning with the MD in “consultation”, the “Full cost Recovery” term was inserted and it was made a guideline for implementation on all Water Services. Hence, in short, under this principle, the member states, when calculating the tariffs of water, they must take into account (as discussed in the second article of the MD under “consultation”) the financial cost, the environmental cost and the resource cost.

To decode the deception against citizens’ interests it is necessary to refer to the three definitions given to these concepts by its creators

A.The “financial cost” is defined as “the economic evaluation of the cost for all projects, infrastructure and processes necessary for services such as water provision, for the uses of Article 2 par. 1 MD. The financial costs include capital costs, operating costs, maintenance costs and management costs.

According to this new definition of financial costs:

1) Consumers are invited to pay once more for infrastructure projects which were paid for decades through a) taxation of generations of Greeks and Europeans (when it comes to infrastructure projects funded by European funds), b) loans that are now part of the unsustainable public debt and c) water bills and fixed fees.

2) They are also asked to pay for non-existent, under construction or shoddy infrastructure projects in regions of the province where in many cases, the competent authorities are unable to provide clean drinking water and sanitation networks do not even exist.

3) They are required to pay the profits of subcontractors who prey on the services sector as it is very clearly stated in Article 4, paragraph 2 bb) since in the definition of the “operating costs” it is included the “cost of concession contracts with third parties”. Just recently such an “innovative” contract was signed by EYDAP which paid a private company to “assess” the existing staff. Such a task was done in-house until today at no “cost” and at any rate it could also be improved in-house if it was necessary.

4) They are required to pay the cost of capital i.e. on the performance of alternative placements (No. 4 par.2.a.av). For example, If a water provider claims that it would earn more if the money given for network maintenance were invested in another activity will we have to pay the “alleged loss of its earnings”? Let us not say naively that water utilities by their constitution have a duty to invest only in infrastructure since only this year EYDAP «invested» € 20,000,000 in Attica Bank. Furthermore, according to the MD consumers must also pay for a secured “reasonable profit” of the private investors in EYATh and EYDAP (Annex 1 a2) without of course quantifying this flexible concept of ‘reasonable’, in a provision of true state “generosity” as if the private investors have any guarantee of profitability when investing in a company in the private sector. This year the dividends that EYDAP distributed were almost 22 million (profits 138 million). But apparently this amount is not “reasonable” and we should all chip in.

B.The “Environmental cost” is defined as “the economic evaluation of the deviation of water status from good status which is required for sustainable utilization of the water resources in accordance with the environmental objectives of Article 4 of Decree 51/2007. “

1) Scientific glory awaits any scientist who succeeds in defining the “cost per cubic meter ‘as the MD claims for the misty “rehabilitation works” (shouldn’t we first study what those might be?) to turn “sustainable” an aqueous stock or a water basin. We wait to see how many municipal water companies and how many municipalities served by EYDAP and EYATh will have zero environmental cost charges unless all regions of the country have no “sustainable” water reserves.

2) Even if science succeeds nothing gives us hope that these policies will. In this plan, no specific action is defined nor is it described as mandatory. The money raised from environmental charges will result in the notorious and largely inert “Green Fund” and from there who knows where and when, since there is no time provision for any rehabilitation works and the only reason why the author characterizes the fee as “contributory” is because otherwise it would blatantly violate the constitution.

3) Isn’t the environmental cost a mere revenue raising fee if we take into consideration a region of the country where the aquatic reserve restoration works would skyrocket such a fee if it was calculated precisely?

4) Quite interesting are two of the exemptions from the environmental charges: (a) users who, by applying appropriate management practices, help to maintain and / or improve the good status of water including wastewater reuse and c) regions with geomorphological particularities or extreme climatic conditions. Does this mean that any big enterprise which has political power because of the jobs they “create” and somehow presents evidence of “good management” will be cleared from these charges? Or even, any inventive politician able to characterize his election area as “geomorphologically particular” will he be able to exclude it from the charges?

5) Only outrageous can we characterize one other provision under which consumers are to pay for pollution of water bodies, even if they did not contribute to it (clause d of paragraph 2 of Art. 5 !!!) and even though this damage is never restored? It would be useful here to have an official answer by the Ministry on how many and which of the recorded cases of water pollution have been restored and who paid for it so far.

6) More generally is it logical from the very definition of this fee to allow for such an uneven burden of the citizens who have the misfortune to live in hydrologically deprived areas and have no competence on the water management in the problematic zone?

C. The “resource cost” is defined as “the economic evaluation of alternative uses of water” which is necessary if the Water System is used in excess of the rate of its natural replenishment.”

This new cost definition reminds us of Chile. There the large copper operators, who can afford to pay more, use water from local springs and rivers while residents end up drinking desalinated seawater, since only such is available at lower prices. Must we henceforth pay in the form of “resource cost” the difference of profit in order to prevent our water being used in another way which results in greater economic benefit?

A large industrial unit of water bottling for example which uses the ground water beyond the rate of natural replenishment will it just pay the “resource cost” and continue making profit while destroying the aqueous stock? How is this consistent with the assumed target of “rational use”?

Finally it is worth noting that from this new tariff calculation method are excluded all water services for energy use (no. 2 par.2.a of RM) and of course it is obvious why when one takes a look at how the energy sector operates in our country.

It is clear to everyone that the above provisions are aimed at nothing other than to give plausible excuses for increasing the price of water in perpetuity, in a similar manner as the electricity bills were doubled by the notorious “regulated charges”.

The flimsy argument that the price increase will lead to savings and rational use, in a miraculous way, is a gross misrepresentation of the economic reality since the ones with the economic capacity will comfortably continue paying their excessive consumption, while those who are economically weaker will have to measure their water consumption with the water dropper.

It is another form of indirect taxation, which severely threatens the human right to access to water and sanitation as it was defined by the UN.

Finally, the logic of full cost recovery is directly contrary to the nature of a public service, the nature of the water companies in Greece which is still valid and protected by the Constitution. Any profit, beyond a reasonable one for the continuation of the operation of the enterprises, which in favor of the public interest, must be reinvested for the maintenance and improvement of infrastructure and networks, is simply immoral and imposed on us who have no other option to have access to the most fundamental resource.

For all these reasons, we are completely opposed to the conversion of the common good of water to a product and we therefore ask for the complete withdrawal of the document under “consultation”.

SAVEGREEKWATER, Initiative for the non privatization of water in Greece

(Note: this text was sent to the Ministry of Environment and as a press release to the media in Greece)

COSIGNING ORGANIZATIONS

Participatory Unifying Movement of Employees & Retirees ofr a public EYDAP in the service of society

Employees Union EYATH (Thessaloniki Water Company)

Naturefriends Greece

Radical Ecology Network

Citizens’ Initiative for the Abolition of the Superfund of the grabbing of Public Property

SOSte to nero, Coordinating Group of Citizens and Organizations, Thessaloniki

Water Warriors, Thessaloniki

Open Solidarity Comittee  of Tinos island

ECO.POLIS Haidari,Athens

PERI.POL.O. Mani (Enviromental and Cultural Group of Mani)

Athens Initiative for a self organized field at Hellenikon

 Cholargos – Papagos Citizens Network

Chlorination of water sources in Pelion by DEYAMV (Volos Municipal Water Company)

Despite the wide pan-European acceptance of the citizens’ actions against the privatization of water services DEYAMV apparently prepares itself to be set under private control:

Chlorination of water sources forces citizens to stop using water from these and either use filters or buy (privately) bottled water (if they can suffer the cost). At the same time DEYAMV plans building a pipeline network, collecting water from everywhere in the area and restructuring the centuries old field watering system in the prefecture, without informing anyone or taking into account the consumers’ views on the issue. Such actions cause great concern that DEYAMV’s intentions lie far from respecting the consumers’ interests. Also a local store selling water filters started business right after the chlorination of the Mana source in Portaria, Pelion.

On the issue the Citizens’ Water Movement (which has been trying but without success long for obtaining a hearing with DEYAMV) called a general meeting for Sunday 8th Sep-tember. The Portaria Citizens’ Movement called the area municipal grandees to take part, but only one appeared (G. Siokos), as well as MP Mrs Chrysoveloni. Such General Meeting took into account previously taken decision of several village and town citizen meetings and proceeded with disconnecting the chlorination system. On Wednesday 11th September citizens of nearby villages, following a summons by the Portaria Citi-zens’ Movement, proceeded with cleaning the area around the Mana water source. (On these see https://watervolo.blogspot.gr/2013/09/blog-post_8.html also https://watervolo.blogspot.gr/2013/09/15.html)

The local media, having reported nothing on the above, came up almost a week after speaking of sabotage in the DEYAMV installations and announced that DEYAMV were going to take legal actions against the “unknown” saboteurs. Despite that the Citizens Movement actions, intentions and summons have been made public and were known by everyone in the area.

Chlorination has always been put forth as a means of protecting public health despite several studies having shown that it creates more problems than it solves (cancer and heart problems being quite common among the users). We can suffer the intermittent use of chlorine in order to overcome certain problems but its permanent use shall be avoided. Such problems always coming forth, however, only during the high vacation season, leads us to believe that the authorities are not willing to find a permanent citi-zen- and environment friendly solution to the issue, but are using the “emergency” to promote practices that lie far beyond their competence and their duty. Such practice also leads those uninformed to conclude that the water of the area is unsuitable for drinking. Mass media widely advertising such problems is another step leading to pri-vate prospectors coming to save the day.

Information about the chlorination of water and the effects of chlorine to people, ani-mals and plants can be found in https://watervolo.blogspot.gr/2013/09/blog-post_12.html and https://cleaningfed.gr/view.php?v=329 .

As is pointed out by the study “Water without chlorine from Pelion” of A. Grohman, (ex director of Berlin Water Service) there are other more healthy and human- and environ-ment-friendly ways to keep a water network clean and proper https://neroxorisxlorio.wordpress.com/%CE%BC%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%AD%CF%84%CE%B7/

The Pelion and Volos Citizens Movements held a meeting (28th September) during which several locals reported that animals in the area refrain from drinking water, being repulsed by its odour, and that the amount of chlorine in it is no less than that in a public swimming pool. N. Psaros has recorded the meeting to include it in his upcoming documentary titled “Pelion: is there a Water War going on?” (https://unfollow.com.gr/home/item/301-unfollow-22.html ).

The above citizens meeting concluded that water issues are one only of the problems we in Greece are facing today: facing a government whose only concern is how to better serve certain private interests (as with the privatization of water companies in Thessaloniki and Athens) we citizens have to remain alert and united and ready to defend our inalienable rights.

[box] A voting was adopted by the City Council of Ierapetra  against water privatization. It is the first Cretan Municipality to move in this direction and we hope that others will follow soon.[/box]

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RESOLUTION

 The Ierapetra (Crete, Greece) City Council convened on 28^th May 2013 and unanimously accepted a proposition of Mayor Sefes Anastasakes concerning the privatization of water services in Greece. According to  Municipal Resolution 130/2013:

The (Ierapetra) Municipal Council herewith declares its objection to the privatization of any institution(s) dealing with water services. The Municipal Council is willing to use any and all means so that water remains a public good used for the welfare of the people.

Water is a public good and not a commodity! We ask that the EU Commission proposes a legislation that will safeguard the people’s right to access to water not only as a means for life itself but for hygiene and irrigation purposes too. The EU must press governments to provide all citizens with clear, drinkable water as well as keep hygiene services to a high standard and also provide adequate amounts of water for irrigation purposes. We suggest:

• That the EU as well as the member state comply to their obligation to provide water, hygiene and irrigation services to all citizens.

•  That water services and management of water resources remain always under public control beyond the “free” market rules and to prohibit  water market liberalization.

• That the EU strive harder so that all EU inhabitants have access to water services, hygiene services and irrigation water where appropriate.

 For the Ierapetra City Council

 Chairman                         Secretary                      Members

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[box] “I call everyone to sign the European Citizens Initiative for water as a public good and not a commodity.” declares P. Skotiniotes, Mayor of Volos, Greece, in a press release issued on 22 March 2013, with the occasion of the World Water Day. On his decision the local municipal Water and Sanitation Company (DEYAMV) will take part in the (probably) largest demonstration movement in the history of the EU; namely the one against the EU Committee practices that help the privatization of water and sanitation services throughout Europe. We in Savegreekwater, who have taken part in an informative event against water privatization, organized earlier this year by Volos and Pelion citizens, can only wish that we played a humble role in this decision. We sincerely hope that actions such as this of the Mayor Skotiniotes will only be the first in a row of similar actions by his colleagues, several of which, like Pallini, Galatsi and Marathon have already expressed their position against privatization by adopting relevant resolutions. Savegreekwater sincerely hopes that Mayor Skotiniotes will continue supporting the actions against Water and sanitation Services privatization in Greece by promoting this campaign to other Mayors all over Greece adn by also adopting a resolution agaisnt water privatization. [/box]

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MUNICIPALITY OF VOLOS

PRESS RELEASE

Volos 21 march 2013

DEYAMV will take part in the European Citizens’ Initiative

Against the privatization of Water and Sanitation Services

P. Skotiniotes: Let us all sign declaring that water is not a trading commodity but a public good

Panos Skotiniotes, Mayor, Municipality of Volos, and Chairman of the BoD of DEYAMV (Volos Municipal Water and sanitation Company), on the occasion of the World Water Day, issued a declaration that DEYAMV will join the European Citizens Initiative and goes as follows:

Following a UN decision, March 22^nd has been declared the World Water Day. We all understand that correct management of this public resource, which also constitutes a source of life itself, must be our common goal, especially during this period of economic turmoil and climate change.

As far as DEYAMV is concerned, we have already pointed out that, water is a public good and as such cannot but be under public management. For us in the Municipality of Volos, DEYAMV continuing to operate as a municipal company aiming to the public welfare is a nonnegotiable fact.

However, to counter any and all attempts for transferring water and sanitation services to private institutions which, if successful, will constitute a danger not only to our well being but to our lives too, we must join forces with all other persons, groups and institutions having the same target.

DEYAMV will join the European Citizen’s Initiative, thus taking part in the largest up to now demonstrational movement against the EU Committee practices that favor the privatization of water and sanitation services in Europe. The ECI is on a race to force those responsible for decision taking in the higher levels of the EU nomenclature to declare that the Public Right to Water and Sanitation cannot be denied and that Water be declared a public good that has to be safeguarded against market practices.

According to EU procedures, ECI has to collect at least 1.000.000 signatures with a minimum quota from at least seven EU nations. Up to now more than 850.000 Germans and at least another 300.000 from other EU nations have signed in; the quota has already been reached in Germany, Austria and Belgium, but Greece and Cyprus still lag far behind. As soon as the required number is reached the EU Committee will have to reevaluate its stance.

Let us point out that there already exists an international tendency for returning water and sanitation services, formerly run by private institutions, to the public, because privatization always led to higher prices and a lowering of services quality. Therefore our position is and will always be that institutions managing water resources as well as water and sanitation companies shall remain public in order to safeguard both, the human right to water and sanitation as well as water resources and the environment against speculation.

We feel confident that the citizens of Volos will join in and stand beside us. We ask all of them to visit https://www.right2water.eu/el and sign the petition. Thus a strong front will be created that will be willing and ready to act against the transferring of water and sanitation services to private companies, that in no way can guarantee the safeguarding either of public health or of the environment. The DEYAMV Board will examine and propose more actions to this same target.

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[box] We were informed by the press office of Volos municipality that DEYAMV has already proceeded to the edition of a form inviting citizens to express their support for the European Citizens Initiative. This form has started being sent to consumers together with their water bills, and there is a special link to the portal of Volos dimosvolos.gr referring to the collection of signatures[/box]

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[box] With the occasion of the world water day, EDEYA (Federation of Municipal Water & Sewage Companies of Greece) released an announcement where it is states its actions, it refers to the remunicipalization trend that is strong in all Europe regarding water and sanitation services and takes a position for the public character of water management. [/box]

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Republication from Eleytheria Newspaper published in Larissa, city of EDEYA headquarters

Translation SAVEGREEKWATER team

“Procedures for the return of water management operations to public (state or municipal) control have been on the rise during the last years. Private management of water has both led to a substantial increase of its price as well as to a lowering of the quality of offered services.” So states the Union of Municipal Water and Sewage Companies (EDEYA) in an announcement, signed by its Chairman (George Marinakes, Mayor in Rethymnon), and made on the occasion of the International Day for Water.

Said announcement continues: “Since 1980 Water Supply, Sewage and Waste Management to almost half of the Greek Population have been run by some 130 municipal companies (DEYA). Such companies have managed to overcome their teething problems and already constitute a dynamic arm of the public sector as far as Water Management and Environmental Protection are concerned.”

According to EUREAU (European Federation of National Association of Water and Waste Water Services) through their 30 years of existence the DEYAs have evolved to effective and flexible organizations with competent staffs and employees and, through investments of some € 8,5 billion, created and operate several Water Supply and Sewage Networks and Plants for Waste Management similar to those operating in the most technologically advanced countries of the western world.

Everyone knows that the Water Companies of Athens (EYDAP) and Thessaloniki (EYATh) have been earmarked for privatization. So everyone shall ask themselves the question: do we really need privately owned Water and Sewage companies?

Strong arguments for keeping such companies public in Greece and elsewhere are:

1. Water Supply and Sewage services are directly connected and absolutely necessary for human survival as well as for human health. Keeping these under public control at least guarantees that issues such as public safety and environmental protection will not be overlooked.
2. In most of the world’s richest countries (USA, Germany, Japan, Norway, Sweden etc) Water Supply and Sewage are run by public companies
3. Even though water may have a financial and environmental value its value as a means of living shall not be left to be regularized by the markets. Water is obtained through natural sources in patterns unstable, uncontrolled and impossible to guarantee; the intricacies of its management for the common good can only be met by organizations not having as a target the increase of their profits.

The DEYAs operate having as their target the effective management of water resources, never aiming to higher profits obtained through an increase in water consumption. Especially during periods of draught public water supply companies (in stark contrast to private ones) aim rather to obtaining a decrease in consumption instead of increasing the prices of offered services.

Internationally the tendency is towards returning water management, previously granted to private companies, to public and municipal institutions as happened for example in Paris, France. Private water management has led to price increases and quality deterioration, which led the citizens in several countries to openly oppose continuation of such practices (plebiscites in Italy and Austria, European Citizens Initiative etc)

During the last 30 years the DEYAs have successfully responded to the task set to them, creating modern and functional water supply and sewage systems throughout the Greek countryside, which are comparable to those run by more advanced and richer countries in the European Union and Europe in general. Of course they have faced, and are still struggling against, economical and organizational issues not of their doing but rather due to the vagueness of the legal background they have been created on and must operate to, as well as the financial issues endemic to operations in the Greek State. Still they managed to operate independent of the central government and kept their original character as real public service institutions, while at the same time they effectively managed water supply and contributed to the protection of the public health and the environment without costing a single € to the State Treasury.

The financial crisis forced onto Greece shall not be an excuse for the transfer of water supply and sewage to private institutions as such cannot in any way offer any guarantee that public health and environmental protection will take first place versus their profits.

The financial strains Greece is forced to operate in shall instead constitute a chance for the modernization, the rationalization of the structure and the operations and the financial purging of public/municipal water and sewage companies. Such companies and the people working in them shall themselves strive to become more effective and increase the quality of services offered to the public.

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[box] In the open popular assembly against the privatization of EYATH organized on the 28 of March by the EYATH Employees Union  Thermi Municipality was represented by the Mayor Theodoros Papadopoulos and Deputy Mayor of Planning, Development & Communication Socrates Famellos. They renewed their support in every effort against EYATH privatization and reported that the Municipality of Thermi had adopted a relevant resolution since 2011[/box]

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Resolution of the Therme Municipality Council nr. 288/2011

Don’t give EYATh away – Support the EYATh Workers Union

 At the same time when the Water and Hygiene services in big European cities, such as Paris and Berlin, are returned to municipal control, the Greek Government proceeds with selling EYATh to private companies, despite what the Prime Minister promised in his speech (2009 Thessaloniki International Exhibition) namely that “water resources are not to be privatized”. EYATh is a public company dealing in water for the common good, has profits and is not burdened with any loan payments.

The international tendency towards returning water services to the public sector is based on the following principles and facts:

Water is a common social good, necessary for life itself, and thus cannot become a trading commodity used for the profit of private interests. Everyone shall have access to it especially the lower and suffering parts of human society.

Private control of water led to:

• Minimal investment and the neglect of maintenance on water networks
• Increases on the water price
• A lowering on the quality of services mainly due to huge decreases in personnel
• Depletion of the water reserves through overconsumption

We need to prepare for the climate change whose presence is already known and the shortage of water this will lead to. Therefore water consumption shall be controlled by the public authorities, otherwise it will easily become just another factor leading to the increase of profits of those that control it irrespective of any consequences.

We consider it absolutely unacceptable that the water networks, constructed by the Greek State with public funds, are to be sold to private speculators especially at such a low price. This decision for the alienation of an important factor of public wealth inevitably leads to the loss of the know-how acquired by EYATh during its long years of public service that can and shall be used for the public good.

We insist that EYATh be kept a public company and that it shall be turned over to the control of the local municipalities – representatives of its actual investors and shareholders, the citizens of the Thessaloniki area.

The government’s decision entails catastrophic consequences in that it alienates one of the most important local industries against the real needs of the country for investment and development.

Therefore we stand in allegiance to the EYATh personnel and ask for a plebiscite to decide for or against the privatization of water and sewage services.

Referendum NOW that water is a common good!

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[box] The Water Coordinating Committee of Pelion and Volos residents organize an event –  debate under the title “Privatization of water: yet another measure of economic and social oppression”, on Saturday, 16/2, at 6:00 pm at the auditorium Kordatou, at University of Thessaly (Papastratou building). The topic will be presented by Marioglou Costas, vice president of the association of workers of EYATH and member of the “Movement 136” for the social management of EYATH and Maria Kanellopoulou member of the Initiative for the non privatization of water in Greece, SAVEGREEKWATER. The speakers will deliver knowledge and experience on the aftermath of water privatization in Greece and abroad, and in the discussion that will follow, the audience will be given the opportunity to ask freely questions so that eventually all attendees can gain a more informed view on the consequences of the attempted privatization in our country.[/box]

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A public briefing on the threatened privatization of Peloponnesian water resources, for which the Peloponnese Region is responsible, was held in Gytheion at the initiative of PERI.POL.O.Manis. The keynote presentations and additional statements were issued by the Regional Councillor for the Peloponnese Thanasis Petrakos, the geostrategic analyst, journalist Nefeli Tzanetakou, the president of the Laconian Agronomists Stavros Arahovitis, and the president of the Organic Farmers of Laconia, agronomist D. Dimitriadis. They pointed out the negative consequences of water privatization. A statement was also issued by scientific expert Pan. Sabatakakis, who referred to the Peloponnese’s aquatic resources and their capabilities, as well as the need for better and more rational utilization. An additional statement was made by the Chairman of the Regional Council of the Peloponnese, Mr. Poulokefalos, who supported the view that there is no risk of water privatization through the Region’s partnership with EYDAP [Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company].

The presentations and statements were followed by dialog with attendees of the event who asked specific questions about the visible risk of the privatization of water resources and generally expressed their outright opposition to the Region’s decision to assign the study for the utilization of water resources to EYDAP, which is by government decision being privatized and sold to infamous multinationals which commercially exploit the aquatic wealth of countries and profiteer at the expense of society. It emerged from the key input and ensuing dialog that privatization leads to the economic and social catastrophe of the countries where it has been imposed and for this reason the general conclusion of the event was that this should be prevented from happening to the Peloponnesian Region. The meeting adopted the following resolution and began collecting signatures from citizens of Laconia who support the move to prevent the privatization, which has assumed a nationwide character as other parts of the country face similar problems and risks:

RESOLUTION

We the citizens of Laconia who gathered at the initiative of the Cultural-Environmental Group of Mani [PERI.POL.O.Manis]And pursuant to the information and indications for the concession of water resources in the Peloponnese Region to private companies, with obvious negative consequences for the economy, society and agriculture,

-Express our profound concern towards, and protest against, the initiatives of the Regional Chief, Mr. Tatoulis.-Believe the agreement between the Region and EYDAP to be the first step in the allocation of water resources to multinationals through the promoted sale of EYDAP to foreigners in implementation of the Memorandum, and

-Denounce the intentions of competent authorities who are proceeding to sell off the national wealth, ostentatiously ignoring the public interest and the rights of citizens.

-Declare that the possible obsession of competent authorities to concede water resources will find us dynamically opposed and we will exert all our legal rights in order to protect the public interest that is being threatened with the privatization of water.