The Minister of National Economy and Finance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, gave an interview on the ERT program “To the Center” this evening.
Among other things, Mr. Pierrakakis explained and insisted that the reform of ELTA was imperative, mainly because of the debts the organization had since 2019. The minister recalled that the government took responsibility to support an organization with significant debts, underlining that this situation needed urgent intervention.
“The answer for ELTA includes many aspects. It is a mistake that is not only communicative, but also operational” he emphasized (something that was also pointed out yesterday by the government representative, Pavlos Marinakis). “In many areas of the country, where the closure of shops was announced, there had to be a dialogue with the citizens. I believe that these actions also do injustice to the positive aspects that existed in the organization” said the minister.
At the same time, he referred to the practical issue of parcel delivery, pointing out that 90% of them are delivered directly by the postman to the home. He said that 92% of pensions also reach the recipient by post, and stressed the need to ensure the receipt of parcels, especially in areas affected by ELTA closures. For this reason, he pointed out, “shopping shops” (receipt boxes in stores, such as supermarkets) have been created to ensure the safe receipt of parcels.
Referring to the next day for ELTA, the minister explained that restructuring has already taken place in the organization. As he observed, although the government is considering support solutions, the European Union would have deemed them illegal. “ELTA had a deficit of 7.5 million euros per month and 100 million euros in debt to PPC and other services,” he said.
“We strengthened the organization with a capital increase and 2,000 ELTA executives took voluntary exit,” he added, while announcing that a new administration for ELTA will soon be announced, which will present its own reform.
For the relatives of victims in Mati
Kyriakos Pierrakakis also referred to a meeting he had with relatives of victims of the tragedy in Mati, underlining that the state’s indifference was evident in dealing with these people.
“The relatives of the victims were victims of state indifference. The government was appealing instead of supporting them, and we discovered that many of their demands, which had been pending for years, had not been met. Among them, was the money given to them, which was not confiscable and was taxable,” said the minister.
In addition, he pointed out that the state had failed to resolve these problems since 2018 and stressed the need to expand the compensation framework for victims in Mati, as was done with the Tempe tragedy. “The state must resolve these issues if it wants to look these people in the eye” he underlined.
Referring to the digital reform, the minister emphasized that it brought a “revolution”, but it is now taken for granted. “There are people asking us how we are going to solve issues like waiting in line. We don’t answer them there, we just do it,” he added.