Αρχείο κατηγορίας ΑΠΟ ΤΟ ΦΥΛΛΟ ΠΟΥ ΚΥΚΛΟΦΟΡΕΙ

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS BEFORE THE MAY ELECTIONS

In democracies, leaders are elected for a single term. The current term of office for area and regional government politicians ends in May 2016. During the next six months, the electorate can take stock of what the local politicians have achieved during their term of office and evaluate their performance. The electorate can review and assess whether these politicians successfully promoted and completed programs addressing the needs of their municipality or region. The review of the implemented programs should be the main criterion of whether or not the electorate will allow them to stay in office for another term. This is what is required in democratic governments and this is how citizens in democratic states evaluate their politicians. After careful evaluation, citizens should choose the right candidates. Those candidates who do not yet have experience in local governance should be judged by their commitment to democratic ideals, their conscientiousness and most of all, their diligence and efficacity during the previous stages of their life.

   Citizens need  to be lenient when evaluating the current politicians of small municipalities, because the financial crisis has resulted in major cuts in funding. It would be more fair to judge them principally on whether they were efficient in repairing the existing infrastucture, and on whether they successfully sought out development projects for their jurisdiction from the superior levels of government (Administrative Districts, Ministries, European institutions). They should also be judged on whether they contributed to the overall enhancement of the quality of life in their region and on whether citizens obtained appropriate service from the municipal public services.

Although the financial crisis also negatively affected the subsidies given to Administrative Districts (περιφέρειες), these politicians should not be judged with the same leniency, as the ones of the previous paragraph. Administrative District politicians have the power to manage themselves the funds of the regional programs, which are co-subsidised by the EU. This means that they can decide themselves which public works will be receiving the allotted regional funds, which are separate for each Administrative District. Since 2010, when the Administrative Districts absorbed several prefeture agencies, Administrative District politicians not only have the power to determine for themselves the feasibility of various financial/technical studies, but also to implement, carry out and supervise the corresponding projects themselves. The electorate should assess and evaluate the work of each Head of an Administrative District (περιφερειάρχης) and his/her task force, based on whether the drafting, contracting, implementing and completion of various projects were satisfactory and cost-efficient. This holds particularly true for the public investment projects necessary for the economic development of each region, since businessmen and investors need the necessary technical infrastructure before they can successfully invest in private projects.

Effective management of engineering or public works means:

  1. a) fair distribution of public works between the perfectures (περιφερειακές ενότητες or νομοί, as they were previously called) of each Administrative District and then fair distribution between the smaller municipalities, based on criteria such as geographical size, population, inhabited area and growth rate
  2. b) thorough financial and technical studies addressing real needs, invoices corresponding to the fair value of the engineering works, transparent conditions of bidding, contracting, carrying out and completing the work
  3. c) strict supervision and detailed evaluation of the finished work, without recapitulative statements and without setting out new prices for “extras”, additional works that were not foreseen in the initial contract
  4. d) detailed strict conditions for guaranteeing the good quality of the engineering of intended public works, with work thoroughly and regularly inspected during construction, but also thorough check after completion.

 

Unfortunately, the average citizen does not have access to the data regarding the total infrastructure projects that each Administrative District has proposed or completed. However, citizens instinctively have a fairly good idea of the work that has been put out by each district. They know if their needs will be met by the works that are under way, and they can roughly assess the quality and quantity of the proposed public works. This “instinctive” assessment and evaluation by the average citizen can become more accurate, if the electorate compares the pre-election promises with the work produced by each Administrative District during the current term, even in the absence of specific measurements. Those citizens who are tech savvy can check on the internet the site Διαύγεια (Transparency) of each Administrative District. To improve awareness among our readership, in the next few issues of our newspaper “MANIOT SOLIDARITY” we will be presenting data referring to pre-election promises and the uncomfortable reality regarding the progress of the undertaken public works in our area, Mani.

ΔΙΑΠΡΕΠΕΙ ΣΕ ΠΑΓΚΟΣΜΙΟ ΦΟΙΤΗΤΙΚΟ ΔΙΑΓΩΝΙΣΜΟ ΣΤΑ ΜΑΘΗΜΑΤΙΚΑ Ο ΣΥΜΠΑΤΡΙΩΤΗΣ ΜΑΣ ΓΕΩΡΓΙΟΣ ΚΟΤΣΟΒΟΛΗΣ    

 Ο φοιτητής του Μαθηματικού Τμήματος του Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών Γεώργιος Κοτσόβολης, με καταγωγή από τον οικισμό Κοτρώνι της Τοπικής Κοινότητας Πλάτσας του Δήμου Δυτικής Μάνης, κατέκτησε το χρυσό μετάλλιο στον 25ο Μαθηματικό φοιτητικό διαγωνισμό IMC (International Mathematics Competition) που διεξήχθη από τις 22-28 Ιουλίου στο Μπλαγκόεβγκραντ της Βουλγαρίας. Είναι η δεύτερη συνεχόμενη χρονιά που ο Έλληνας φοιτητής κατακτά χρυσό μετάλλιο στον συγκεκριμένο διαγωνισμό, γεγονός μοναδικό στην ιστορία του Εθνικού Καποδιστριακού Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών.

Το International Mathematics Competition, είναι ο μεγαλύτερος παγκόσμιος μαθηματικός διαγωνισμός για φοιτητές και οργανώνεται από το University College London. Διεξάγεται από το 1994 με τη συμμετοχή κορυφαίων Πανεπιστημίων των ΗΠΑ και της Ευρώπης. Οι φοιτητές διαγωνίζονται δύο ημέρες σε 5 προβλήματα την ημέρα. Στο φετινό διαγωνισμό έλαβαν μέρος 350 φοιτητές. Οι φοιτητές του Τμήματος Μαθηματικών του Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών συμμετέχουν από το ακαδημαϊκό έτος 2007-08, έχοντας σημαντικές επιτυχίες κάθε έτος.

Τα έξοδα συμμετοχής του Γεώργιου Κοτσόβολη καλύφθηκαν από τον Δήμο Νέας Ιωνίας, όπου κατοικεί η οικογένειά του

Αποκαλυπτήρια ανάγλυφου Κωνσταντή Κολοκοτρώνη στα Κυβέλεια Μηλέας Δυτικής Μάνης

 

Την  Κυριακή 5 Αυγούστου σε μια λιτή εκδήλωση, στο χωριό Κυβέλεια της Τοπικής Κοινότητας Μηλέας Δυτικής Μάνης πραγματοποιήθηκαν τα αποκαλυπτήρια του ανάγλυφου πορτρέτου του  Κωνσταντή Κολοκοτρώνη, πατέρα του  Θεόδωρου Κολοκοτρώνη.

Την όλη εκδήλωση οργάνωσε ο επίτιμος πρόεδρος του Συλλόγου Αρκάδων Ηρακλείου Αττικής «Ο Θεόδωρος Κολοκοτρώνης» κ. Νίκος Παρασκευόπουλος (φωτο) με την  οικονομική στήριξη  ομογενών Αρκάδων Αυστραλίας.

Το 1780 ο Κωνσταντής Κολοκοτρώνης πολέμησε  μαζί με όλη την οικογένειά του στον πύργο Παναγιώταρου Βενετσανάκη στη Μικρή Καστάνια εναντίον πολλών χιλιάδων Οθωμανών που πολεμούσαν να τον καταλάβουν. Μετά από πολυήμερη αντίσταση οι πολιορκούμενοι επιχείρησαν ηρωική έξοδο κατά την οποία ο Κωνσταντής Κολοκοτρώνης πληγώθηκε θανάσιμα από μια σπαθιά. Πληγωμένος θανάσιμα και με πυρετό, ετοιμοθάνατος, σύρθηκε για αρκετή απόσταση.  Το σώμα του εντοπίστηκε μετά από αρκετές ημέρες και ενταφιάστηκε στη Μηλιά της Μάνης, στον οικισμό Κυβέλεια, όπου σώζεται ο τάφος του, λίγα μέτρα από την πλατεία του χωριού. Η σύζυγός του Ζαμπέτα και ο μικρός Θεόδωρος Κολοκοτρώνης σώθηκαν κατά την έξοδο παρέμειναν στο χωριό για δυο χρόνια.

ECONOMIC CRISES ARE CAUSED BY THE PUBLIC SECTOR’S MANAGEMENT MINDSET

 

   The term “mindset” describes a generalised way of thinking. The term “generalised” refers to both the affairs that are of interest to certain individuals as well as to all individuals who have the same way of thinking. Αctually, the term prevailing mindset would be more accurate. We believe that the current mindset of corruption in managing the affairs of the public sector is at the root of the long financial crisis of our country. It is still not certain how much longer the crisis will last and when it will finally end, however, a shift in the current mentality could help find an effective solution for the prolonged crisis. Although changes to attitudes do not happen overnight, they can be the beginning of an optimistic development and eventually bring much-needed positive results.

The generalised mindset described above characterises the whole public sector, the central administration, the legal entities and the other public interest entities. There are of course some exceptions, but because of their small number, they cannot offset the general trend. The way that the budgets of ministries, public institutions and bodies are run confirms the prevailing mindset that we referred to in the previous paragraph. A careful examination of the budget of any public agency or body and the authorisation of expenditures shows their usefulness or otherwise to the common good.

   In order to evaluate the allocation of the funds of a budget, we need first to examine the relation between a) the operational and consumer spending and b) the investment expenditures. This relation is of course influenced by the statutory powers and responsibilities of each administrative body. In most instances, the investment expenditures are much lower than the operational ones, and they are allocated according to non-transparent criteria, since they are not set by a democratic planning and do not correspond to political commitments. This trend is particularly prominent in recent years, to the point that instead of investment, we see divestiture, since hardly any funds are allocated for the maintenance of the existing assets, logistics and infrastructure.

The lack of equitable planning leads to allocation of limited investment expenditures with criteria governed by political ends and micropolitics, and serving certain target groups of citizens or certain preselectioned areas. This constitutes one more distortion, since the economic resources are not spent efficiently, the needs of the general public are not met and quality of life is not improved.

The operational and consumer expenses are allocated in such a way that it leads to overdevelopment of the public sector and the increase in the number of businesses and suppliers depending on it. This results in decreased productivity of government bodies and state institutions, and thus the prevailing mindset of the administrators is perpetuated. This has a negative impact on the tax paying citizens whose everyday needs are not met by the services provided by the state.

   This prevailing mindset on the part of state administrators has plagued Greece since independence. The newly-liberated Greeks were not able to understand and accept the rational governing of Ioannis Kapodistrias, who had been elected by the National Assembly as the first Governor. It is worth noting that Kapodistrias donated the bigger part of his personal assets to the Greek National Treasury. In the few years that he governed, he established the rule of law and the foundations of sound administration. His vision included the common good of all citizens and the expansion of the Greek state to the north, from Arta on the west to Pagasitikos Bay on the east (these expansion plans were later abandoned). The prevailing corrupt mentality and policies had  already been established during the years of Turkish occupation in order to benefit those powerful groups who were involved in the central administration. This culture continued until the Greek independence and was followed by four bankruptcies, one of which lasted for almost a hundred years, until the end of the previous century!  It also led to high taxation, so that state loans could be paid back.

The general thoughts presented above, and in particular the imperative need for a mindset shift, should definitely be taken seriously by the public administrators of our area.