As we had previously announced, we return to the burning issue of the illegal tender, according to the AEPD, for desalination in Kythera, and after watching the municipality's statement on the issue on 17/09.

The Kythera.News publishes today its decision Authority for the Examination of Preliminary Appeals (AEPPA), which two of the competing companies appealed, requesting the cancellation of the public contract for the «construction and operation of desalination plants in the settlements Saint Pelagia and Diakofiti»(AEPD decision, p. 1).

At the same time, we are making available to readers both the Municipality's response dated 17/09/21 to publication on our website, dated 16/09/21, as well as contracting authority's announcement (Municipality of Kythira) regarding desalination, as published on 01/06/21. We are waiting for the Municipal Authority to send us the «official documents» that present «in detail and with full documentation» to the AEPD the «positions of the Municipality.», We first learned of their existence today, with the press release issued by the Municipality on 17/09/21.. We do not know, of course, what else these documents offer, as we assume that the decision of the AEPD attached below—which refers to an illegal contract procedure—will have taken them into account. We would like to thank the author of the municipal announcement for informing our readers of the interest we always show in municipal affairs.. However, we would like to ask him to convey to the honorable mayor our request to inform us of the times when we can contact him directly (for more detailed information)., because, whenever we have attempted to do so to date, he happened to be in a meeting.. So, here at Kythera.News, we believe that democracy works when it is based on communication and accurate explanations. This helps to avoid misunderstandings.

In essence. Kythera.News, in its article dated 16/09/21, published the entire reasoning behind the AEPD's decision on desalination. And today, it returns with the decision itself. Therefore, we have nothing to hide. However, we thought that, since we could not find any information on the Municipality's website regarding the substance of the decision –except for a press release, which characterizes it as «legally flawed,» without arguing the point.– We assumed that the citizens of Kythira should be informed about how decisions affecting their quality of life are made, and, above all, why these decisions are considered illegal, non-transparent, and ultimately invalid. After all, we are in no way substituting for the municipal authority, because Tsirigotis did not entrust the future of the region to us with his vote, but to them. We are judged on the accuracy of the information we provide and on our control of power, as provided for by Greek law and the Constitution. And since it includes the positions of all parties as they are, it cannot conceal anything. Let alone the truth.

To keep it short, we'll just say this. With its decision, the Authority for the Examination of Preliminary Appeals (AEPPA) raises both the issue of legality and the issue of transparency in the municipality's contract for desalination. To this end, we quote the last paragraph of its decision verbatim.

«Because, as a result of the above, it accepts the appeals. Cancels the entire announcement, since first of all the tender procedure itself, the type of tender, and the deadline for submitting bids are invalid and secondly, the provisions concerning the admissibility and evaluation of bids are void, since, in view of the principles of equal treatment of economic operators and transparency of public procurement procedures, in the event of cancellation of one or more provisions of the tender notice regulating the conditions for the admissibility of tenders, the tender notice shall be canceled in its entirety.»

Regarding the issue of desalination in Antikythira, in contrast to desalination in Tinos, we reserve judgment on the continuation of the report, as we request that both the municipalities of Kythira and Tinos inform us, through official documents, all the parameters of these projects. The fact that we reproduce publications from other sources does not make us suspects of a general conspiracy. Nor are we accountable for «working hypotheses» that anyone can make for their own reasons. The duty of journalistic investigation is to seek the truth for the benefit of the public interest. And to this end, we will always work.

The decision follows Authority for the Examination of Preliminary Appeals (AEPPA), which canceled the municipality's announcement regarding desalination contracts.

Then read the proclamation of the contract for desalination by the Municipality, as published on the Kythera.News website, dated, 01/06/21.

Here, read the article by Kythera.News, dated 16/09/21.

Below is the press release from the Municipality of Kythira, dated 19/09/21.

«Half the truth is equivalent to a lie."

Recent articles published on the Kythera News website regarding the desalination tender are monument to misguidance and misinformation with the sole purpose of attracting readers, using the now familiar method of supposedly revealing headlines, which, however, do not correspond to reality and are reminiscent of other times. However, we are not surprised by this behavior, as it is not the first time that this particular website has demonstrated the real purpose for which it was created. By indiscriminately adopting and without having all the facts, any opinion that directly or indirectly attacks the Mayor and the Municipal Authority, as she did in August 2020 by republishing (and essentially adopting) miserable and slanderous articles about the Mayor regarding the case of the cannon in Antikythira, she attempts to justify her presence in Kythira and at the same time to provide ammunition to the opposition, which is faltering due to the dozens of projects and actions of the Municipality. It did the same with the issue of how collective bodies should meet, adopting the views of the opposition, which were ultimately NOT accepted by the Decentralized Administration. The reference on this website to publications that are not renowned on our island for their objectivity (!), whose articles it adopts uncritically, proves all of the above. In essence, these articles:

HIDDEN the Municipality's positions, as expressed in detail and fully documented in official documents submitted to the AEPD, which they did not request to receive, as they usually do with other issues for which they frequently request information from the Municipality and its administrative bodies.
HIDDEN that the announcements of the Municipality's projects are NOT drafted by the Municipal Authority, nor by the Mayor, nor even by the Technical Service of the Municipality, but exclusively the Region of Attica, through the Technical Support Department for Island Municipalities of the Regional Unit of Islands which acts as the supervisory authority and the authority responsible for drafting and approving studies for projects carried out in our municipality, in accordance with the explicit provisions of Article 52 of Law 3979/2011 and Circular 35255/28-07-2011 of the Ministry of the Interior (ADA: 4AS2NXB).
HIDDEN that The type of tender (summary or open) is completely irrelevant and does not affect the discount rates for a project.. The summary tender procedure was chosen—as provided for by law—because completed in a shorter time than an open tender, but not at the expense of transparency and healthy competition. There are dozens of examples of summary tenders in which the Municipality achieved very significant discounts of 40 and 50%, and corresponding examples of open tenders in which the discounts were extremely low, in the single digits. The only difference between the two types of tenders is that in summary tenders, companies' bids are submitted in paper form within 12 days of the announcement being posted, while in open tenders, they are submitted electronically (on the special E-SIDIS platform) within 22 days of the announcement being posted. NO other difference., no connection between the type of tender and issues of transparency, discount rates, or competition. In both the summary tender and the open tender, interested companies throughout Greece have the right to participate and submit bids without any restrictions. Moreover, one of the applicant companies submitted its bid in the summary tender procedure in the normal way, and no one prevented it from doing so..
HIDDEN that there was a clear dividing line, as the award criteria required that, in order for a bid to be admissible, it must be at least experience in executing a specific number of contracts related to the type of supply, while the evaluation criteria would also include any evidence of more experienced candidate with the delivery of more related supplies.
HIDDEN that The permanent nature of the project also applies to all previous desalination projects (at least on 10 islands, which were mentioned in detail in the Municipality's press release dated 13/09/2021) that were put out to tender through the summary tender procedure of Article 50 of Law 4487/16.. In fact, some of these islands already had desalination plants, and the tenders concerned the supply of «backup» units without any «procedural obstacles» arising. It is therefore understandable how reasonable it was to use this article in our case, for which there is documented urgent need for immediate operation of these desalination plants. Furthermore, the desalination units will be installed inside containers, meaning they will be portable so that they can be relocated and serve emergency water supply needs in other areas of the island, if necessary.
HIDDEN essential parameters of the desalination contract for Antikythira, comparing it with a case unrelated to Antikythira (Tinos). The contract amount for desalination in Tinos is €69,800 and not €65,000 as stated in the article, and it concerns a lease for a period of two (2) months only, while for Antikythira the amount is €59,500 and NO €600, which is incorrectly and misleadingly stated in the publication and refers to a lease for a period of time. four (4) months (i.e., twice the duration). The above amount for Antikythira also includes the necessary infrastructure for the reception and installation of the desalination unit, as it was installed and operated on the island for the first time without any other infrastructure, such as:

Construction of a seawater pumping station
Twin seawater pumping unit for 100% backup
Settling tank
Temporary storage tank 0.5 m3
Pumping station for transporting drinking water to the island's central reservoir
Electrification of the unit

In contrast, in Tinos, all of the above infrastructure was in place and ready to go, courtesy of the municipality. The desalination plant on Antikythera was built because the island is hard to get to, with full redundancy across all equipment. In other words, total production comes from two completely independent lines. The reverse osmosis desalination units in Antikythera have been constructed (each one) with an energy recovery system for:

the ability to operate the unit with the electrical power installed on the island.
power savings of over 50% with the aim of low water production costs for the Municipality.

The Antikythera unit is brand new and unused, with new membranes and other equipment. Transport conditions on the island of Antikythera are completely different from those on the island of Tinos, and the cost of transporting and unloading the equipment is incomparable at every level. The Antikythera unit is fully supported by the contractor, with consumables, all kinds of materials, and personnel for the entire 4 months of the contract, while in Tinos, the local municipality is responsible for its operation, as it already had the relevant expertise, personnel, and resources. Any comparison between the cases of Antikythera and Tinos is utopian and is made for misleading purposes.

We should also remember in every direction that from 1^η From September 2014 to date, the current municipal administration has issued and paid more than 5,000 payment orders (ΧΕΠ) without being canceled by the competent auditing bodies (Decentralized Administration, Court of Auditors, etc.).This alone proves whether or not the municipal authority complies with the law.

The desalination project will go ahead because it is in the interests of the residents and visitors to our island. The tender will be fully adapted to the decision of the AEPD and a new deadline for the submission of bids via E-SIDIS will be set for 25^η November 2021. Those who make accusations of lack of transparency and non-compliance with the law should be more careful, because, among other things, they are also guilty of the offense of defamation, with all that this entails.»