SO MUCH THUNDER THAT IT RAINED…. the press release released a few minutes ago by the Mayor of Messina rightly falls within the category of news announced given that a real dispute has been underway between the Minister since last summer Thick and the Minister Giorgetti on the search for resources to finance urban regeneration projects, initially financed with the PNRR, which were excluded from the Plan and for which Minister Fitto himself had undertaken several times to guarantee financial coverage. Yes, but with what resources? This is the question that was asked several times to Minister Fitto who, initially, had tried to cover this expense with the resources of the Complementary Fund, but received an absolute refusal from Minister Giorgietti.
This explains the reason why Minister Fitto decided to intervene directly on the other fundsintroducing a sort of reward mechanism by virtue of which the entities that demonstrate that they know how to spend retain the resources, while those that did not know how to do so would be deprived of the unspent resources.
So when we talk about reprogrammed resources, of “reprotect” a project already financed (see interventions for Casa Serena) we are walking a minefield, as we have tried to explain several times even if the Administration has always rejected any objection to the sender, branding it as specious and exploitative.
The note released by the administration, however, confirms what we had reported several times: the Meloni Government has modified the rules for the management of the FSC Fund and the other Funds, no longer allowing the entities to reprogram spending independently but centralizing the control of all these resources within the structure created at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. A choice that we do not agree with, because it severely limits the autonomy of the bodies in managing the resources under their responsibility, but which certainly should not have surprised the Municipality of Messina given that the rules changed many months ago. And therefore perhaps, before continuing to spend the resources of which there was only virtual availability, it would have been better to wait for their actual availability to become official. Before claiming to still have the availability of the “reprogrammed” resources, it would have been better to verify that these resources, having not been spent, were not allocated elsewhere.
And before claiming to have the availability of the resources deriving from PON 21-27 it would have been better to wait for the decree with which these resources were to be assigned and the related projects approved.
Now the Mayor is sounding the alarm: “We will not stand by and watch resources be stolen FSC 14-20 and PON PLUS 21-27 to mask the government’s failure to promise on PNRR funds” writes the Mayor of Messina Federico Basile.
Mayor Basile, in fact, writes in one of his notes that sounds like a siren: “On the FSC 14-20 and PNRR funds, what we feared for some time but did not believe is materializing – continues Basile – that it could get this far. While the Municipalities spend every possible energy to try to implement the interventions of the PNRR and stay within the deadlines as Messina is doing, finally the government, and Minister Fitto in particular, throws the mask on the FSC 14-20 funds, on the PNRR and on the funds PON METRO PLUS 21-27. Given that – explains the Mayor – the Metropolitan City of Messina has implemented every intervention under ownership (i.e. within its competence) with FSC 14-20 funds, today it is clear why, after several reminders and requests made to the Cohesion and Development department, the reprogramming of the FSC funds 14-20 of the available resources, despite it having been formalized in time and following the indication of the Minister himself on the management of funds not committed to 2022. Today it is clear where the Minister intends to take the funds to cover the reprogramming of the PNRR that the Mayors of metropolitan cities, and not only that, have never accepted, but immediately“.
“The Cohesion Decree – Basile writes again – he says it clearly. Even if the Municipalities are in compliance with the times of the PNRR, the government would like to use the PON METRO PLUS 21-27 funds, already programmed and intended for interventions planned by the metropolitan cities, to cover measures of the PNRR which has partly, for reasons not certainly attributable to the Municipalities, defunded, and obviously the economies of the FSC 14 – 20 will also have the same fate”.
But this has been talked about for some time, and just a few days ago the ANCE National study center wrote that following the latest revision of the PNRR, approximately 1 billion euros of investments in urban regeneration in Sicily they risk leaving the Plan. “These are, in detail, 360 projects (253 urban regeneration, equal to 70%, and 107 interventions of integrated urban plans, equal to 30%) for a value of 922.1 million euros (420.7 million of urban regeneration, equal to 46%, and 501.5 million of integrated urban plans, equal to 54%)” he declared.
“After the reassurances of recent months on the financial coverage of urban regeneration interventions (PUI integrated urban plans PNRR), today it is understood that they have not found other resources and have put pen to paper, with an article of law of the cohesion decree, with which they intend to take the resources from the PON METRO PLUS 21-27“.
At that time the question to Mayor Basile is the following: how serious is it? What is missing, if anything, among the planned works? Will it be possible to intervene, for example, for the redevelopment of Casa Serena? And the project for the former Città del Ragazzo? Certainly the alarm is now evident, so much so that the Mayor’s note concluded with a call to arms: “In agreement with the other mayors, we will not allow this political theft on the management of those resources and, for our City, we are verifying how to protect in court the FSC 14-20 resources that they intend to steal from Messina despite having followed the ministerial indications ”.
“We will not stand by and watch as FSC 14-20 and PON PLUS 21-27 resources are stolen to mask the government’s failed promises on PNRR funds” The Mayor of Messina Federico Basile writes it. So, now it is even more clear that if there will be reprogramming of funds, it will only be for the PNRR but certainly not for the city of Messina.
TO REMIND
In February 2023 the Municipality wrote: “Thursday 16th, at 10 am, in the Hall of Flags at Palazzo Zanca, Mayor Federico Basile and his Executive will illustrate to the press the programming relating to the 30 projects that will be carried out with the funds allocated to the City of Messina by the Metro plus and city National Program Southern mediums, for a total of 222 million euros. The Pon Metro Plus, while developing in continuity with the 2014-2020 one, foresees new interlocutors, the medium-sized cities of the South who will be involved in the role of beneficiaries for social innovation projects aimed at the regeneration of fragile areas, characterized by socio-economic hardship and housing. Having held firm some themes, from digital to mobility, energy efficiency and social inclusion, the new Program expands its action in innovative areas of intervention related to urban development, such as integrated urban regeneration actions; green; social innovation; access to employment; environmental and circular economy interventions; and promotion of social development also through culture, natural heritage, sustainable tourism and safety“. What will happen to these 30 projects?
