One year after the earthquake, many Emilian businesses are still in trouble. The tragedy that struck one of the most industrialized areas of the country between 20 and 29 May 2012, bringing 59 Municipalities to their knees and killing 28 people, still makes its consequences feel heavily, weakening above all small and very small companies that struggle to access to credit and who do not have the strength to make it on their own feet. The rebound effect, the paradoxical boost to development that comes after events like this, is still not felt. In the reconstruction work is being done in an innovative way and the companies of the Confindustria system have resumed production in a consistent way (95%). But access to public funds, especially for those with small businesses, seems prohibitive.
“The procedure for rebuilding and obtaining financing – says Rodolfo Musci, owner of Pressmair of Finale Emilia, a company that manufactures ladders and platforms for luxury yachts – is called SFINGE, a name, a program, because it is a sort of incomprehensible online manual. Since it was presented, 160 corrections have been made and each time the technicians have to start over. Out of a hundred applications presented, I think one or a little more was accepted. In the meantime, however, the costs of companies run up. We will realize how serious the situation is when the bankruptcies start to appear, one after the other. I speak not for myself, who work in a rich sector that knows no crisis, but for many colleagues with whom I interact on a daily basis. I was insured and coped with the situation. Those who weren't today have water in their throats”.
In recent days, the Region has presented an overall assessment of the post-earthquake: it is a mammoth commitment, with 200 hours of work put in place by Civil Protection volunteers, and global resources for reconstruction which should reach almost 15 billion, 6 of which to be allocated to businesses and homes. Commissioner and governor Vasco Errani claims to have put pen to paper a transparent method for accessing funds and that the results of the efforts made, 12 months later, can be seen at least in the layoffs, down from 40 hours to 2.700.
“Transparency and severity in disbursements are sacrosanct – observes Musci – infiltration must be prevented in these areas, but until now the bureaucracy has blocked everything. It is right for a Commission to examine requests strictly, but it cannot claim to finance only the foreseen situations, because the rules never cover everything. Extensive interpretations are needed, otherwise the technicians are forced to ask questions over and over again. What is the use of holding down resources that may already be available?”.
The banks on the other hand, observes the entrepreneur, want adequate guarantees. “As far as I'm concerned, I'm lucky, I have the full support of Banca Popolare dell'Emilia Romagna, an institution truly rooted in the area, which knows entrepreneurs one by one. Those who worked with banks in Milan or abroad, bound by the constraints of Basel3, however, are not doing well, because they obviously cannot give the required guarantees. In short, the system, especially of the little ones, suffers heavily”.
Added to this is a joke: “the paradox – concludes Musci – of taxes. We have to pay everything, even the waste tax. The fault does not lie with the Municipalities, which need resources to move forward. The problem is political and national. Things went differently in L'Aquila, maybe that's a more interesting pool of votes than ours, I don't know”.
In reality, the Region is fighting for full recognition of the economic damage to businesses and the easing of the constraints of the stability pact: the front is open.
