A-Infos (en) Italy, Sicilia Libertaria #471 - AGRIGENTO. No one should speculate on water for profit. (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

On the one hand, Siciliacque is reducing its water supply to Aica 
because it owes it EUR22 million. On the other, Aica is cutting off 
water to the Maddalusa neighborhood, a seaside area of Agrigento, 
because its two thousand residents are illegal, having built in Zone A 
in the 1970s. Looking back, the same thing happened in 1926. ---- 
Prefect Mori, nicknamed the Iron Prefect for his harsh actions, sent by 
Mussolini to Sicily to defeat the Mafia, had cut off the water supply to 
the residents of the municipality of Ganci to root out mafiosi. AICA (a 
public utility) implemented the same repressive policy. Today, in the 
third millennium, in a society considered as advanced and emancipated as 
ours, it is shameful that such atrocities occur. The head of the 
Sicilian Regional Civil Protection Department, Salvo Cocina, stated this 
at a meeting on July 16 at the Agrigento Prefecture: "The law cannot be 
negotiated, but the State does not abandon the most vulnerable. In 
Maddalusa, water will only be provided through humanitarian aid and only 
to those truly entitled to it. The principle of legality remains the 
irreplaceable guiding light of public action, but in the face of an 
unprecedented crisis, the institutions are choosing the Civil Protection 
route to protect the health of the most vulnerable citizens, firmly 
reiterating their rejection of any implicit amnesty." Yes, illegal 
construction equals cronyism. In order to maintain electoral consensus, 
shady politicians have always turned a blind eye, making false promises 
regarding the amnesty. In order to survive, in addition to paying the 
annual fee of EUR600, Maddalusa residents are forced to buy water from 
private individuals at EUR100 per tanker. Two points are worth 
highlighting regarding Cocina's statement: "an unprecedented crisis"; 
this year, with heavy rainfall, the dams are overflowing, including the 
Castello Dam, the Fanaco Dam, the Arancio Reservoir, and others in the 
Agrigento and Caltanissetta areas. The water is there. It's corrupt 
politics at the service of multinationals that is causing it to be 
lacking. Mismanagement, lacking serious, effective planning for the 
benefit of citizens and the local community, reigns supreme. In doing 
so, Cocina protects the powerful and fails to help the most vulnerable. 
The second point: "protect the most vulnerable citizens." But in 
reality, those who will be entitled to this precious liquid are those 
over seventy-five, people with 100% disability or those receiving a 
disability allowance, bedridden individuals, families with children up 
to five years of age, and other particularly vulnerable situations that 
will be assessed by the COC (Municipal Operations Center). Ultimately, 
after all, around a hundred families will be supported. The other 300 or 
so families, it goes without saying, will have to fend for themselves; 
it's their fault they built in a non-buildable area. Cocina calls it a 
humanitarian intervention. But is leaving thousands of people without 
water humane? After 50 years, they're bringing up the issue now. Surely, 
as always, there's a political machination behind it that smacks of a 
trap, which we don't know about! But we could guess.

Instead of making Maddalusa thirsty, Aica would do well to fight against 
Siciliacque, which buys our Sicilian water at 8 cents per cubic meter 
and resells it at 69 cents.

Water is an inalienable, non-commodified asset. In 2004, the Sicilian 
region, after liquidating the public water utility (EAS) for 
inefficiency and granting a 75% stake to the French multinational Veolia 
under a forty-year contract, sold off our water and burdened Sicilians 
with exorbitant rates. In 2023, Siciliacque recorded a turnover of 
EUR47.2 million, with a net profit of EUR1.9 million.

Despite this, President Schifani, undaunted, on May 26th, pushed through 
the passage of bill no. 216, "Unified Regulation of the Integrated Water 
Service in the Sicilian Region." The aim was to establish a single 
regional integrated water service, eliminating the nine territorial 
areas (ATI), thus strengthening the centralized political/economic power 
of the private/multinational sector. This would consequently reduce the 
balance of power between the provinces, which would be represented by 
only two mayors per province.

In opposition to the aforementioned bill No. 216, the Sicilian ABC Forum 
is advocating for public water, requesting a hearing before the ARS 
(Regional Regional Assembly) Fourth Commission. The Fourth Commission 
responded that the matter would be discussed in September, after the 
summer holidays. The La Valdera movement has recently taken action 
against Siciliacque, proposing termination of the contract, leveraging 
Article 30 of the Siciliacque/Region agreement. Article 30 allows the 
Region to revoke the management contract for serious reasons of public 
interest. However, such termination of the contract provides for 
reimbursement to the departing company of the net residual value of the 
unamortized investments and compensation equal to 10% of the value of 
the unperformed work.

Essentially, based on the investment plan declared during the tender 
process, the departing company should be reimbursed and compensated with 
a sum of EUR140-150 million. Another political movement is proposing 
that the Sicily region acquire 75% of the stake held by Italgas, which 
it previously acquired from Veolia for EUR115 million. This would give 
the region 100% ownership, and the water would return to public 
ownership. The two movements' proposals are certainly sound, but they 
come after years of silence. While we, the committees, have fought and 
continue to fight with street strikes and hunger strikes, receiving 
complaints and warnings, we have succeeded in securing public water in 
the province of Agrigento. It should be clarified that La Vardera will 
run in the October 2027 elections for the regional presidency. We are 
not interested in this. Our battles are not aimed at advancing a career, 
much less at attaining power.

Nothing on the horizon suggests a radical change in which municipalities 
will be the direct managers of the aqueducts and implement sustainable 
rates starting at EUR100 per user, as was the case with the EAS. The 
only municipalities currently enjoying this benefit in the Agrigento 
area, thanks to Article 147 of Law 152, are the eight municipalities in 
the Sicani Mountains, which have been granted direct management. In 
Sicily, the issue of full water rights has now become a constant and 
ongoing struggle. Last June, residents of Licata and Canicattì 
simultaneously took to the streets on the same day to protest against 
AICA (Italian Water Authority) for the usual delays in water supply.

In conclusion, today we are witnessing the decline of those in power 
into an authoritarian and repressive policy, ignoring the true needs of 
the community. Citizens must respond with equal force to reverse the 
situation.

Enrico Caldara

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