Efstratios Harhalakis: Response to the allegations C. Syralis

We publish the letter we received from the Mayor of Kythera Efstratios Harhalakis, concerning the report C. Syralis to all Municipal Councillors and local media of Kythera:

REPLY TO THE CLAIMS C. SYRMALI

Mr C. Syralis, with what he publicly claims in a way that is not at all understandable (raising reasonable questions), has gone beyond the call of duty. But what they have gone beyond what is required is those who - with great reluctance - rushed to uncritically adopt his allegations and even with pithy, heavy-handed titles, with the sole aim of increasing the toxicity in our local society, toxicity from which they themselves are sustained by defiantly disregarding the tranquility of the local community and protecting it from slander and unproven occasional accusations. They are the very same people who a few years ago also uncritically adopted the squalor about «antiquities» in Antikythera (the well-known Laskaridis case) by implicating my name in an obscene way, an issue that Justice found completely unfounded and filed with unanimous verdict of the Piraeus Plenary Council (432/2023) but without these sycophants ever having the the fortitude and basic manhood to make even a formal apology. I refer them to the only thing they deserve: the public pity and the public ridicule. And I'm not going to go back to their case, if not only legally because tolerance is not weakness and has limits. Unfortunately, some people only understand this way. So be it.

With regard to Mr. Syralis' allegations, I would like to clarify the following:

1. Mr. Syrmalis I know since 2000, when he was working with the Municipality of Kythera and the acquaintance was made through the late Mayor Artemis Kalligeros, when the then President of the Community of Antikythera was looking for an engineer for a road study for Antikythera.
2. Mr. Syrmalis - and this is known and undeniable - has been active as a freelancer on our island for at least 30 years and as a result he has a huge and valuable archive of topographic backgrounds for almost the entire area of Kythera. This fact automatically makes Mr. Syrmalis (and any engineer of corresponding data) a potentially valuable partner of every Mayor and every Municipal Authority.
3. I was perhaps the only Mayor who tried vigorously to integrate, in the appropriate way, the knowledge and professional background of Mr. Syralis into the Municipality's workforce.. And this is evidenced (highly indicative) by the following:

• On 04-08-2019 (beginning of 2^of my term of office), I made a public announcement about the to fill a vacant position of Special Assistant to the Mayor, specializing in the specialty of Agronomist - Surveyor Engineer (ADA: ΨΖ0ΞΩΛΨ-ΒΘΓ).
• Η single application submitted to the Municipality to fill this specific post of temporary agent was by Mr Syrmalis, dated 17-09-2019 and no. 3844 (last day of the notice!).
• It was followed by a a month-long period of «negotiations» with Mr Syrmalis who, after the whole process, did not give us a clear answer as to whether or not he wished to complete his appointment with the City.
• Finally, on 27-07-2020 (1 year later!) the recruitment was completed with the Mayor's decision No.3035, which was sent to the Decentralized Administration in order to be published in the Official Gazette.
• At the same time, the registration of Mr. Syrmalis as a salaried employee in the Greek Public Sector Salaried Employees Register was completed.
• While we were awaiting the issuance of the relevant Government Gazette, Mr. Syralis changed his mind and asked us to revoke the recruitment! We were just ahead of the Decentralised Commission, which had not completed the procedure due to the August holidays, and we sent the letter no.3643/03-09-2020 document with the Mayor's Decision No 634 withdrawing the recruitment.
• It should be noted that in the position that Mr. Syralis did not accept to be hired, the Civil Engineer Mr. Stavros Veyoglou was hired several years later, to whom Mr. Syralis' arrows were directed!
• On 15-01-2021 Mr. Syrmalis signed a Project Lease Agreement with the Attica Islands Network for the preparation of the topographical study of the regeneration of the Kythera River, object 7.000€ (including VAT). The study was delivered on time and to date, Mr Syrmalis - as shown by a relevant confirmation of the Network - has not provided the legal documents for payment to receive the money to which he is entitled.

4. From the above 2 highly indicative examples, every well-meaning reader can understand a lot, just as much can be understood from the style used in his text by Mr Syrmalis to «prove» his claims.
5. But what is very striking is this: any citizen or businessman who has any financial claim against third parties (public or private) does not make incomprehensible publications after poems, but, if he does indeed have a claim, which for years has not been satisfied by his counterparty, he exercises the remedies provided by law (lawsuits, etc.). It is something for which we have discussed many times with Mr. Syralis (and even in front of witnesses who fortunately remember) when he referred to the work he did for the Municipality during the terms of office of Artemios Kalligeros and Theodoros Koukoulis. Given the the absence in the Municipality's file of any written formal procedure confirming the allegations made by Mr Syrmalis, it has always been constant on my part to point out that if he indeed has claims of past years against the Municipality for the reasons he mentions, he should seek their satisfaction in court, so that there would be a relevant legal judgment and if his claims were considered valid, the Municipality could certainly proceed to pay them. But NEVER has Mr. Syrmalis brought any action to receive even a portion of what he claims is owed to him. He has NEVER taken legal action to have the merits of his claims adjudicated. NEVER. And that should be troubling, as should the fact that the relevant allegations about his claims against the Municipality of Kythera, even 25 years (!) are publicly presented these days in view of the discussion of the claim against him by the Municipality for the property in Frilingianika which - by coincidence - will be heard on 16-02, i.e. in a few days!
6. Furthermore, if one searches the Municipality's archive from 1999 (year of its foundation) until today it is doubtful if one will find even one award or contract in the name of «SYRMALIS GEORGIOΣ - AGRONOMOS TOPOGRAPHOS». This alone should give every reader pause for thought.
7. The main reason I insisted on hiring him in 2019 was one: to assist our City in completion of the study of the Southern Sewerage Department. The recruitment was not completed. But we maintained good relations with him, with him claiming (fortunately in front of witnesses) that he will provide us with the topographical backgrounds of the study because as he said he wanted «to close his career in Kythera with this play». And so it was. Mr. Syrmalis co-signed the sewerage study as its co-examiner. He SIGNED it without being blackmailed or threatened to do so! He voluntarily co-signed it by providing the Municipality with the topographical backgrounds for the completion of which he told us that he cooperated with other private engineers in Athens. And even in the public announcement of the financing of the project I thanked him personally and by name, as everyone can see in the press release of the Municipality dated 18-04-2023, without him then making public any objection or financial claim against the Municipality: https://kythira.gr/2023/04/18/to-megalytero-ergo-stin-istoria-toy-dimoy-einai-gegonos/
8. As regards the the work of the Southern Sewerage Department of Kythera and its execution: Mr. Syrmalis is a surveyor-topographer. He is not a mechanical engineer, he is not a chemical engineer, he is not a civil engineer. His opinions on whether or not the project is being carried out correctly are therefore superfluous.. The project has a complete and certified implementation study and a three-member team of engineers, who are the only responsible and competent to give daily instructions to the contractor's crews. Furthermore the project has an INDEPENDENT TECHNICAL ADVISER who emerged after an electronic open tender and who verifies and certifies both the physical and financial scope! The «sodomisation» of the study is unworthy of comment. The studies can be modified and changed during the execution of the works, this is provided for in the Law. This is done by means of Summary Tables (RTAs) and based on the progress of each project in actual conditions (e.g. actual composition of the subsoil compared to the study's forecasts, the need to change the original route locally in certain places for various reasons, a more detailed implementation study than the original one, etc.). based on the instructions of the supervising engineers. So, in spite of those who spread unthinkable lies about the quality of the construction of the project, I declare unequivocally that the project will be completed and operational! And a similar project will be done in the northern part of the island with the study almost completed.
9. The studies of all projects carried out by the Municipality are prepared and considered in accordance with the Law. They are drawn up either by public engineers (Municipality, Region) or on the basis of contracts with private persons. If Mr Syralis has such a contract, let him produce it. Only then will he be able to «prohibit» the Municipality from using his copyright, i.e. specific topographic backgrounds, which he himself has prepared under his contract with the Municipality and which bear his signature on specific technical studies.. The rest is theory.
10. I leave for the end the slanderous reference by Mr.Syralis to the manipulation and manipulation of tenders and projects. Of course, after 12 years as mayor and over 24 in public life, there is not much that surprises me. Since I have been Mayor in 2014 to date, over 250 tenders for projects, supplies and services have been conducted under my signature and have ALL been audited by the competent authority (depending on the budget of each study): the Decentralised Authority, the Court of Audit. Not a single deficiency has been found in a single! And furthermore, the works of the Municipality have been thoroughly and thoroughly checked in recent years after anonymous complaints from all state audit bodies and not the slightest deficiency was found!
11. Ο tender of the Sewerage project had the following characteristics:

• It was international and electronic.
• Posted in Official Journal of the European Union.
• His study (and all its elements) was approved by the Ministry of Environment before the project was funded and by 15 other advisory bodies until the final AEPO is issued.
• Participated in the competitive process 3 construction companies: one was excluded from the outset due to lack of a letter of guarantee and the other 2 were «short-changed» for the project with repeated appeals to the Single Independent Public Procurement Authority.
• The project was registered to the contractor company HOROTECHNIKI and the contract has been APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF AUDITORS. The Supreme Court of Cassation has examined the entire tendering procedure (not only the form but also the substance) and has given its opinion on the legality of the procedure and the signing of the Contract.

The work of the South Kythera Sewerage Department is very difficult technically and it is almost unlike any of those carried out in the rest of Greece. It passes through a series of successive settlements, with very large differences in altitude and the excavation in some places is at a depth of 7.5 metres. The networks have a total length of 40 km! The supervising engineers exaggerate themselves during supervision and the crews work diligently day and night for its timely completion. I have little interest in the opinion of those who are used to constantly subverting or denying any development, permanently resting in their unproductive frenzy.. Projects like this are always justified, but not necessarily at the time of their execution. The value of a sewer project is self-evident and doesn't even need to be discussed. Besides, it is a great hypocrisy for some people to care about tourism and at the same time do everything they can to trip up a project that we never expected to be executed on our island in our dreams! The people of Kythera do not forgive such behaviour.

So I ask everyone to be patient. The roads will be dug up, the rain will plague us with potholes, the restorations will be made when the weather conditions allow and for a few more months we will all have to adapt in order to complete a project that finally solves a huge environmental problem of Kythera and introduces our island dynamically to the destinations of sustainable development that respect the environment. These destinations will dominate in the years to come! 

The inconvenience is temporary, the works are ON!