Solidarity with our Greek water justice allies as a water privatization scheme they are opposing goes to a local vote tomorrow (Sunday May 18).
Ekathimerini.com reports, “Opponents of plans to privatize EYATH, the state-run company that provides the northern port city of Thessaloniki with water and sewage services, hope to reverse the process by putting it to a referendum on Sunday. …Organizers hope that a resounding no vote could still halt plans to denationalize the company, which is being eyed by Suez Environnement SA and Israel’s national water company Mekorot. …Citizens are expected to vote on the matter while casting their ballots for the municipal and regional elections at polling centers around the city…”
The article notes, “Yiannis Emiris, chief executive of Greece’s privatization agency TAIPED [the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund], has signaled that the plebiscite’s outcome will not impact on the sale, which is mandated by Greece’s bailout agreements.” Another article by the same news service adds, “The (Greek Interior) ministry said on Saturday that the plebiscite’s organizers had no right to place ballot boxes inside voting centers… As a result, the 11 mayors of Thessaloniki’s municipalities have agreed that the ballot boxes should be placed outside the voting precincts.”
TAIPED is also seeking to privatize the Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company (EYDAP).
A Blue Planet Project report concluded, “There is no separate justification for the privatisation of the two water companies. Government uses the general rationale of needing to sell public assets to pay off the debt burden, because otherwise we won’t have “money for salaries and pensions.” This line is repeated as an excuse for every measure that the government, the Central European Bank and the IMF want to impose. We believe that privatisation will have the same results and impacts experienced elsewhere – namely, it will result in decreased access, higher rates and lower quality of service.”
Further reading
Update on the campaign to stop water privatization in Greece
Greece to fully-privatize Athens and Thessaloniki water under austerity program
Blue Planet in solidarity with Initiative 136 in Greece
