The thirst of the South cannot be satisfied by the new company Acque del Sud Spa. The government wanted it but Basilicata rebels against the creation of the new structure included in law n.74 of 21 June on public administrations. The company will have an initial capital of 5 million euros and will take the place of the Authority for the Development of Irrigation and Land Transformation in Puglia, Lucania and Irpinia (Eipli). The organization has been dissolved, but continues to manage and maintain the supply network. The region led by the center-right with Vito Bardi it is accused by the opposition of not protecting the Lucanians. And not just because they are experiencing a hot summer but because local institutions are excluded from the future organization of the service. And differentiated autonomy is also involved. With the entry into the field of the new company from 2024 January XNUMX, the Region will no longer have control of the water cycle. Water as a public good in Basilicata for its sources will be completely in the hands of the company controlled by the MEF.
Political attacks and agreements between Regions
“Water is our blue gold, says the group leader in the Italia Viva Region, Luca Braia.“Due to the responsibility of this center-right in government we will no longer have a say in the matter”. The water from Basilicata also arrives in Puglia and contacts are underway with Michele Emiliano for coordinated action against the law that defined the roles and responsibilities of the new company. The Region has been deprived of any evaluation for which a discussion in the Regional Council could lead to a clarification. After all, it scares that Acque del Sud in perspective will give up part of its capitalto private entities, keeping a minority share public. Last April, however, the President of the Region signed a program agreement with the Government and with Emiliano himself on water resources. In that agreement, the updates to the environmental component of the water tariff were approved and the volumes of water going from Basilicata to Puglia were certified. In short, says Bardi ” the water of Basilicata belongs to the Lucanians. And the Lucanians must benefit from it”. Robert Cifarelli Pd group leader in the Regional Council does not agree with Bardi and explains: “We hoped that the ownership of water management from January 2024 would become a majority of Basilicata together with Puglia and Campania. This is due to the fact that in Basilicata we have dams for 1 billion cubic meters of water containment capacity and large infrastructures. Southern water over time will sell 30% to private entities and only 5% to other public entities. A robbery for Basilicata”. Local autonomies will no longer have power and while the League wants to give more powers to the Regions with the differentiated autonomy project, the opposite happens in Basilicata. From the periphery to the centre, even if it is not obvious that private participation in water management will worsen the picture. After all, the old Ente - Eipli - had been fought for a long time by the left and its commissioning had to end. They did not expect a centralist conclusion.
