LETTERS TO THE NEWSPAPER – We have received and published a political note from the opposition regarding the increase in the sales price of subsidized housing relating to the urban redevelopment project “Neighborhood Contracts II”.
(opposition councilors and supporters in photo)
THE INTINI ADMINISTRATION INCREASE THE PRICES OF AFFILIATED BUILDING HOUSES “NEIGHBORHOOD CONTRACTS”
The Neighborhood Contracts, as is known, were created to give young couples, and more generally to vulnerable groups and families in economic difficulty, the possibility of purchasing a house at controlled prices. In this perspective, the previous administration completed the long administrative process of the Neighborhood Contracts building program, renouncing to designate central areas of the town as green public gardens. The fact is that, contrary to expectations, the purchase price of subsidized housing has risen to the point of bringing it equal to or slightly lower than the market price. In fact, with City Council resolution no. 48 of 03.13.2024, the Francesco Intini administration increased the price of subsidized construction, moving it from the initial €1,580.00 per square meter to the current €2,042.00 per square meter.
What does all this mean?
It means that young couples, families, vulnerable individuals and/or those with reduced economic resources, for an apartment of approximately 90 square meters will now have to spend approximately €50,000.00 more than originally expected. Simply put, for many Nocesi the house was and will remain a dream. The one carried out by the current administration is clearly a position contrary to and distorted with respect to the assumptions that gave rise to the neighborhood contract building program.
Who benefits from this decision?
Certainly the decision taken by the Intini council does not benefit those segments of the population for whom the subsidized housing was originally intended. The majority attempted, in vain, to justify this price increase by leveraging the ISTAT update, but this is only one of the factors that contributed to the price increase.
Serious doubts and perplexities instead concern the other factor that led to the price increase, namely the perceived obligation to deliver the accommodation with an energy class different from the minimum one established in the agreement. It is essential that clarity is made on the prescription of this point. Citizens receiving the subsidized purchase of subsidized housing have the right to know clearly and with justifications the reasons behind this precise desire and decision.
And again, the access criteria for those entitled to purchase the subsidized accommodation has not been clarified. In Bari, for example, the Mayor Antonio De Caro has planned a public announcement to verify the requirements and to determine the ranking of those eligible. In Noci, however, nothing was said or specified in this regard, nor was a demonstration published with the same intention of at least following the model of the city of Bari.
This unjustified choice also leaves doubts and perplexities in the minds of citizens and therefore this attitude is worrying. Not establishing the criteria and requirements for access to subsidized housing actually constitutes an obstacle precisely to the segments of the population who need it most and for whom it was intended. Therefore, let this majority clarify why, in this period characterized by strong economic difficulties, it arrived at this decision which is unfair and penalizing the weakest groups. We ask that you immediately adopt concrete measures to guarantee access to housing to all those groups who have incomes with an ISEE not exceeding €20,000.00 and then to those with higher incomes.
Housing must remain a fundamental right of every citizen to live in a dignified and safe environment, we cannot allow this right to be denied due to wicked political choices. We await immediate responses and decisions in this sense, especially from the Mayor who during the election campaign promised criteria of fairness which he today denies with these decisions, above all by not giving explanations in the city council, rather hiding behind specious preliminary rulings of a procedural and regulatory nature.
We ask as opposition forces and as citizens that the criterion of fairness and solidarity towards the groups most in difficulty be respected, first guaranteeing them access to the building program of the so-called subsidized housing. The behavior of the majority councilors and the council in the city council meeting of 5 June last year is stigmatised, in which we asked to openly address the issue of the price increase, also proposing a check on the competence, boasted, according to them, exclusively by the council.
The majority, in order to avoid expressing their opinion on the subject, disregarded what was agreed in the meeting of group leaders which preceded the convocation of the city council. Councilor Marino Gentile, on behalf of the entire majority, disavowed what was decided by his own group leader in the meeting, raising an instrumental regulatory issue with a preliminary ruling, thus effectively preventing the entire community from knowing what they thought about the whole matter. The political position adopted by this majority denotes a lack of respect not only towards the opposition but also, and above all, towards the entire city. By adopting such behaviors it has delegitimised both the role of the group leaders and that of the conference that brings them together, emptying the latter of dignity and role and creating, yes, a dangerous institutional precedent and a serious prejudice to democratic rules.
This political choice of the Intini administration confirms with the facts the lack of sensitivity towards the values of solidarity and fairness for the less well-off classes of our community, creating inequity and inequality in their treatment. The entire opposition is clamoring to change this inappropriate and burdensome choice.
