Information Kythiraikos Associations

On the evening of Monday 6 June 2022, in the emblematic hall of the Historical Library of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, in Piraeus, the annual briefing of the Kythera associations based in Attica, which started on the initiative of the Mayor in 2015 and was interrupted in the last 2 years due to the pandemic.

The briefing was attended by the Boards of Directors / representatives of:

1. Trifyllio Foundation
2. Kythiraikos Association of Athens
3. Kytheraiki Brotherhood of Athens - Piraeus
4. Kythira Studies Society
5. Kytherian University Students Group
6. Kythira Foundation for Culture and Development
7. Kytheria Association of Alimos
8. Association of the Antikytherians «St. Myron»

On behalf of the Municipality, apart from the Mayor Mr. Efstratios Harhalakis, the Deputy Mayors Mr. Sougiannis and P. Zantiotis, the Head of Technical Services Mr. Stathis and the Legal Advisor Mr. A. Semitekolos.

The attendees were welcomed by Mr. Panos Laskaridis, President of the Foundation and Rear Admiral (retired), who as one of the main sponsors of the ongoing research at the Antikythera Shipwreck, expressed his optimism that the excavation in Antikythera, which has been carried out since the beginning of June, will be a complete success, while once again he expressed the his special interest in saving the historic Lighthouse of Apolitara, for which a preliminary study has been carried out.

In the context of the briefing of the Kythera Associations of Attica, the Mayor and his associates thoroughly analyzed all the current activities and developments of the Municipality, with particular emphasis on the following:

• The projects under construction, under execution, under contract and under tender throughout the island, which constitute the largest programme of projects funded and executed in the last decades in our Municipality.
• The maturation of major projects and infrastructure in order to claim new funding (Sewerage of the South Department, River, Chora, Avlemonas, River Theatre Completion, Municipal Slaughterhouses, Waste Management Phase 2, etc.).
• Addressing water supply problems from 2015 to date, with concrete and tangible results.
• The particular legal cases that the Municipal Authority has handled, such as the adoption of the Regulation of Operation for the River Bazaar, the Municipal Transport, the legalization of the Ports, the legal treatment of applications for the installation of industrial wind farms and the establishment of the allowance for rural doctors, which required 4 legislative amendments.
• The organisation of the services of the Municipality, in the light of the lack of administrative staff.
• Water and bystander charges, mainly from systematic defaulters, an issue that will now be addressed by enforcement measures.
• Bureaucratic red tape and delays on the part of certain public services, which systematically obstruct municipal projects and any serious local development effort.
• The need to address the problem of unwanted animals.
• The major road projects that have either been completed, or are under construction or in progress and which solve decades-old road problems (new Makrona Bridge, Melidoni, Kaki Lagada, Chalkos, Phyri Ammos, Mormoris, Ag. Anastasia, Diakopoulianika, etc.).
• The urgent need for private water tanks, both in homes and in business premises (hotels, hotels, rentals, etc.) mainly in settlements that for technical reasons have always faced water supply problems during the summer period.

Finally, the Mayor, Mr. Harhalakis, made special reference to the need to respect the carrying capacity of the infrastructure and the environment of the island, in relation to any kind of private investment, in the light of the decision 1037/2022 (Section E) of the Council of State, which is a decision - a landmark decision aimed at protecting island regions from pharaonic type activities that pose serious risks to nature, the environment and their infrastructure..

The Municipality of Kythera and the Mayor personally thank Mr Panos Laskaridis for the free use of the unique room of the Historical Library of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation and for his general contribution to culture, the Armed Forces and our country as a whole.