The Laiki Bank Depositors’ Association (SYKALA) is calling for an update from the government on the status of state-owned properties that were slated to be transferred to the National Solidarity Fund, in an open letter addressed to the President of the Republic.
According to SYKALA, the impetus for this request is the Ministry of the Interior’s new plan to address the housing crisis, under which more than 570 state-owned plots of land will be made available to eligible recipients at 25% of their market value.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The Association states that it does not object to the use of state-owned property for housing purposes, noting that, on the contrary, it welcomes the decision; but raises questions about what it describes as the different treatment of properties that had been earmarked for the National Solidarity Fund.
The letter states that approximately eight years have passed since the decision by the Council of Ministers, in November 2017, to transfer state-owned real estate to the Fund—a decision which, as SYKALA notes, was submitted to Parliament, debated, and enacted into law.
SYKALA maintains that these properties remain unused to this day due to pending legal and administrative issues and requests information on the reasons why their transfer to the Fund.
Specifically, it requests information on the current status of the properties, the specific reasons that continue to prevent their unimpeded transfer, as well as the Government’s timeline for a definitive resolution of the issue.
At the same time, SYKALA proposes, as an alternative solution, the release of these properties from the Fund and their replacement with a credit of €100 million to the Fund, an amount which, as it notes, corresponded to the estimated value of the properties in 2017 and may be higher today.
“We are not asking for preferential treatment,” SYKALA states, emphasizing that consistency in the implementation of government decisions and equal treatment “are imperative.”
The Association is requesting a brief, clear, and written response to its questions, with the letter to be forwarded to the Ministers of the Interior and Finance, the parliamentary parties, and members of parliament.
Source: CNA
