The Abruzzo region allocates 300 thousand euros to compensate for the damage caused by the failed dredging. How the initiative is organised.
Support for the Pescara navy
The Abruzzo Regional Council recently approved, as part of the stability law for 2024, a provision that allocates 300 thousand euros to the Pescara navy. This decision comes as compensation for the damage suffered due to the failure to dredge the port of Pescara, a problem that has long afflicted the category of fishermen and port operators. The fishermen expressed their satisfaction with the measure, considering it a fair albeit minimal measure of relief.
#### A long wait
Despite this step forward, shipowners point out that this intervention is not sufficient to resolve the broader problems plaguing the sector. In particular, we highlight the situation of the port operators of Pescara who are still awaiting the disbursement of the support measures provided for by regional law n.44 of 2016. The latter had the intention of providing help to companies affected by neglect and approximation in the management operations of the Pescara port, responsible for the cessation of commercial and tourist traffic and the consequent economic collapse of the companies operating in the sector.
#### Insufficient funding
The note released by the shipowners highlights how the legislation was only partially financed by the previous regional administration, with a disbursement of less than 40% of the sums due to the companies involved. This insufficiency prevented the liquidation of companies in crisis, the payment of severance pay to employees left without work and the satisfaction of the financial commitments contracted by the companies themselves.
#### Five years without solutions
The operators denounce the inability of the current and previous regional administration to find the resources necessary to remedy a serious injustice perpetrated against port companies. Despite five years of legislature, there is a complaint of total political indifference towards the Abruzzo port issue. This is exacerbated by a lack of concrete prospects for the recovery of maritime traffic in the short and medium term.
#### An appeal ignored
The situation described by the shipowners reflects a general sense of abandonment by regional institutions towards a key sector for the local economy such as the port-maritime sector. The final appeal ironically recalls the famous words of judge Giovanni Falcone: “follow the votes, you will find the money”, thus suggesting where regional financial priorities may have been directed in recent years to the detriment of those directly affected by the failure to dredge the port.
