Another
example of how neoliberal political power behaves
Nea
Dimokratia owes Public Power Corporation (PPC) half million euros for
its headquarters at Leoforos Sygrou-Athens. The government coalition
party supports that is facing difficulties to pay the bill, due to
the financial crisis conditions. This excuse is not acceptable, of
course, for the other consumers, especially those whose electric
power has been cut off by the company.
Electric
power has been cut off in nursing homes, social care foundations,
very poor families. However, the government coalition party applies
policies to impose penalties for those who can't pay the bill while
has self-excluded from such penalties. Nea Dimokratia spends millions
in public relations, high executives and propaganda, but not for the
public sector which when will collapse, will be privatized as being
bad.
Furthermore,
the two government coalition parties received millions in loans and
put their future funding from the Greek Parliament as guarantee for
these loans. Will there be any future funding for PASOK and its
leader Evangelos Venizelos, as the party may not survive? Who will
pay for debts to the banks? The Greek citizens of course. Let's not
forget that PASOK and Nea Dimokratia took loans from bankers without
guarantees, obviously to let the bankers and economic elite to
establish a cleptocracy in exchange.
Details
from the “deal” with PPC
The offices
of a technical company were previously in the building of Nea
Dimokratia headquarters. The company owed to PPC 275,772 euros for
electricity bills since January 2012. In September 2012, Nea
Dimokratia requests from PPC, through a letter, this debt to be
passed to the party's electricity bill.
Through the
same letter, the party was requesting to regulate this debt by paying
it in 24, free from interest, monthly doses, thus nearly 11,500 euros
per month. This second request was also accepted by PPC under the
term that "future bills from now on should be paid on time".
Also PPC made clear to Nea Dimokratia that "in case that you
don't retain the deal, to secure PPC interests, the company will be
in the unpleasant position to apply without any further warning, what
is predicted by the supply code to customers...", meaning that
the electric power should be cut off immediately.
From
November to December of 2012, PPC's sector responsible for cutting
off electric power from customers, received totally three orders from
the central administration of the company, to cut off electric power from Nea Dimokratia headquarters because it was proved that the party
was not paying its bills! However, for one more time the order was
not executed! General manager of Nea Dimokratia is sending another
letter to PPC requesting a 3-month extension so that the party pay
the amount that owes to PPC! The excuse is always the same: economic
difficulties due to the financial situation and delay of the public
funding of political parties.
Through this
illegal process, which is against PPC's rules, the total amount which
Nea Dimokratia owes to the company for electrical consumption until
December 2012 is 144,172 euros according to PPC. This is separate
from the initial debt of more than 200,000 euros. While PPC behaves
with cruelty against other consumers who are unable to pay the bills
and the extra taxes, cutting off electric power from families with
many members, disabled, or even from the asylum for incurable
diseases in Kypseli-Athens which owes an extra tax of 600 euros, the
company tolerates continuously the behaviour of Nea Dimokratia, the
right-wing neoliberal party which voted for all these policies and
extra taxes! Nea Dimokratia finally pays the amount of 144,172 euros
for the first and only time, on February 27, 2013.
A new
“deal” with PPC
However,
Nea Dimokratia insists on the same process and sends a new letter to
PPC on April 17 of 2013, requesting a new time extension to pay its
debt to PPC reaching 119,521 euros only for recent bills. The excuse
is always the same as before. A month later Nea Dimokratia requests a
new deal for its whole debt to PPC reaching 352,622 euros! The party
suggested paying 10,000 euros for a start and the rest of nearly
342,000 euros in 40 free from interest monthly doses!
On June 3rd,
Nea Dimokratia pays 10,000 euros, but three months later, on
September 11, PPC gives another order to cut off electric power
because the party didn't pay any of the 40 monthly doses! This was
the fourth order since November 2012, which again, wasn't executed.
Until mid-October, Nea Dimokratia pays just 30,000 in two doses. On
october 30, PPC sends another warning asking 199,540 euros for
electrical consumption of the Sygrou building from June to August.
The remaining previous debt is 320,899 euros.
Once again
PPC's sector for major customers warns Nea Dimokratia that should pay
the whole debt of 520,439.81 euros by November 6th. Once again, Nea
Dimokratia ignores warning, a new order was given to cut off the
electric power from Sygrou's building and once again this order never
executed!
The
situation as it is today
Today Nea
Dimokratia owes to PPC 255,531 euros for current electricity bills,
while the rest amount from the illegal regulation of 40 doses is
310,985 euros. Therefore total debt is 566,516 euros. This includes
four unpaid doses for Special Emergency Estate Tariff which Nea
Dimokratia refuses to pay. According to a recent law, this extra tax
must be paid by the user of the building. While average consumer, in
any case, will be forced to pay an amount through the IRS, Nea
Dimokratia owes 64,695 euros for this tax. Neither PPC nor Nea
Dimokratia agreed to answer questions about the whole matter.
Meanwhile,
both PASOK and Nea Dimokratia, the neoliberal government coalition
parties, which systematically delay their payments to Social
Insurance Institute (SII) for their workers, are treated with
leniency, while other businesses which in the midst of a financial
crisis face huge difficulties to pay their obligations, are facing
strict penalties for any payment delays to SII.
The laws are
only for the others not for them!
Key
information from articles by Kostas Vaxevanis, Marios Aravantinos and
Nikos Andriopoulos from Kostas Vaxevanis' paper edition magazine
HotDoc, Issue 40, Nov. 2013.
(translated by SCH)
(translated by SCH)
Comments
Post a Comment