The President of ANCI Puglia, Fiorenza Pascazio, together with the Secretary Alfredo Mignozzi, presented the outline of the act to the large audience of mayors present, which was welcomed with long applause, a sign of the univocal and transversal consensus of the Apulian municipalities.
The Mayor of Bari and National President of ANCI also participated in the meeting,
Antonio Decaro; for the Puglia Water Authority (AIP), the President Toni Matarrelli, the
General Director Cosimo Ingrosso and Administrative Director Michele Abbaticchio; for the Puglia Region, the President Michele Emiliano in videoconference and the General Secretary Roberto Venneri in presence.
This result strengthens the relationship between local authorities and the integrated water service, promoting
a rational and sustainable use of the most precious environmental resource: water.
It is essential to underline the fruitful and constant institutional collaboration between ANCI,
Water Authority (AIP) and Puglia Region. The public governance of water, participatory and supportive, guarantees greater democratic control and transparency in the management of water resources. Public water management can also be oriented towards objectives of public interest, such as environmental protection, adaptation to climate change, and the maintenance of fair and accessible tariffs for all citizens.
“After the powerful and unanimous consensus expressed by the Municipalities for the public management of the Water Service – declared the President of ANCI Puglia, Fiorenza Pascazio – the Water Authority can choose the type of procedure and decide validly by next 30 June. Naturally, we await the results of the dialogue between the Government and the Region,
with the hope that there are possibilities for a constructive dialogue, as we have learned today. We trust that the public interest and the protection of citizens’ rights can be the guide that carries forward the dialogue between the Region and the Ministries. When the time is ripe, we will make the necessary steps in the municipal councils and we will proceed, in line with the regulatory provisions, to the creation of the special purpose vehicle, through which the municipalities will be able to fully carry out similar and joint control over the Apulian water system.”
