Cnpr forum: accountants also involved in post-earthquake reconstruction
Longoni: "Italy is the country of extraordinary police stations, regardless of exceptional and unexpected events. There are over 200 of them"
NAPLES – “The extraordinary events of recent years, primarily the pandemic and wars, have greatly influenced the post-earthquake reconstruction of Central Italy. There has been an overall weakening of production structures in addition to the bubble phenomenon inflation which produced the increase in the costs of raw materials and processing. A third element which made the situation difficult was the 110% superbonus which involved many companies, attracted by this opportunity. All negative events we have managed in the best possible way.” This was declared by Guido Castelli, senator of the Brothers of Italy and extraordinary commissioner for 2016 earthquake reconstruction, during the Cnpr forum ‘Reconstruction: institutions and professionals in the field for the rebirth of the territories affected by the earthquake ‘ promoted by the Accountants and Accounting Experts Welfare Fund chaired by Luigi Pagliuca.
“We intervened with specific ordinances that allowed the financial integration of the approved economic frameworks and in 2023 there was a change of pace with a 73% increase in liquidations made compared to 2021. The Meloni government – added – wanted to add the term ‘repair’ to the term ‘reconstruction’ to economically relaunch the 8 thousand square km ‘crater’ which has suffered four earthquakes in five months. We have started the financing of hundreds of projects. business thanks to the NextAppennino complementary fund of over 1 billion and 780 million euros. Accountants and accounting experts are contributing to the management of these cumbersome systems by supporting businesses and families in particular in the combination of the earthquake contribution and building bonuses. Rebuilding would make no sense in the absence of a relaunch strategy that needs the support of professionals.”
“RETHINKING DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNAL AREAS“
Irene Manzi, deputy of the Democratic Party in the Culture commission at Montecitorio, also expressed her opinion on the delays: “The reconstruction of the territory affected by the tragic seismic events of 2016 and 2017 must represent a moment of great rethinking of the development of that vast internal area of Central Italy which was facing situations of economic and logistical difficulty even before the earthquakes. A collaborative effort that must involve the professional and productive world with which it is essential to have a comparison. There have been events, such as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia which will involve part of Europe since 2022, which have affected both the timing of the implementation of the works that had to be started and the costs of the materials that have to be started. increasedThere were significant measures that the then reconstruction commissioner, Giovanni Legnini, adopted with respect to Covid, with specific measures both for simplification and for relief and support for the construction sites and sectors directly involved. I also remember an ordinance for the revision of the single price list within the crater precisely to accommodate the increases in the costs of materials which risked misaligning the originally estimated price”.
“DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONALS“ h3>
For Raffaele Nevi, national spokesperson for Forza Italia: “Every issue that concerns geopolitical structures has a direct influence on our economy and therefore also on the reconstruction in a particularly complex area such as that of central Italy. The war in Ukraine certainly produced an increase in the prices of raw materials which had its decisive negative impact on the post-earthquake reconstruction and adjustments were necessary. The earthquake also meant a temporary depopulation of those areas that we are trying to combat in every way. From that tragedy it is possible to create a development opportunity for many companies but also for many professionals who, with their work, contribute to carrying forward the reconstruction. We have a legislative-regulatory apparatus that also has a strong impact on the progress of public works; we have launched the new procurement code in an attempt to simplify, rationalize and streamline the procedures that lead to the start of a construction site. We don’t always succeed, but where there is a need to move quickly, as in the case of reconstruction, we have a duty to try.”
“CERTAIN RULES NEEDED”
Critic Roberto Cataldi (M5s), secretary of the Constitutional Affairs commission at Palazzo Madama: “The pandemic may have blocked the works for a couple of years but we are talking about an earthquake that occurred in 2016 and another couple of seismic events in 2017. So the reasons for the delays are others. For example, the parametric costs have not yet been sufficiently adjusted, so there are some allowances for the owners who are not always able to support these brides. Often the population is made up of elderly people who have a pension that barely allows them to ‘make ends meet’ and therefore cannot afford to cover the costs which are not. included in the contribution given by the State. Until now we had tried to remedy this and reduce this share of the burden a little because it was possible to combine the two measures of the earthquake bonus and super bonus. Unfortunately for political reasons the super bonus was hit, creating a problem also for seismic areas. Then the government took a step back, setting a date, 2025, which was absolutely inadequate. We need regulatory certainty, without constantly changing the rules. There needs to be greater commitment from the government also in making things simpler.”
“THE RECONSTRUCTION MUST REPRESENT A FLYWHEEL”
During the work, moderated by Annamaria Belforte, the professionals’ point of view was illustrated by Mario Chiappuella (accountant and statutory auditor of the ODCEC by Massa Carrara): “It is completely clear that the post-earthquake reconstruction of Central Italy has suffered several setbacks following the Covid pandemic, first, and the most recent geopolitical events. These factors have work has slowed down quite a bit, in a context like the Italian one which normally already suffers from several delays linked to bureaucracy. However, the reconstruction must represent a driving force for the growth and development of the entire area affected by the earthquakes of 2016 and 2017. We professionals are ready to do our part to contribute to this recovery“.
“ITALY IS THE COUNTRY OF EXTRAORDINARY COMMISSIONERS”
The conclusions were entrusted to Paolo Longoni, adviser of the National Institute of Accounting Experts: “The delays in reconstruction following a seismic event that it occurred in 2016. It is not surprising if we think that the reconstruction of Belice which dates back 56 years ago, for which we are still paying a percentage of petrol excise duties as a form of contribution, is still incomplete. /strong>. In our country the reaction to events of this kind has always been slow. Only when these events occurred in areas where local authorities have strong autonomy, as in Friuli, has the reconstruction gone better this time the times are more limited and that this police station is able to have a much greater impact than in previous years. Italy is the country of extraordinary police stations, regardless of exceptional and unexpected events. There are over 200 of them, to prove it that rules, procedures, regulations and bureaucratic apparatus are not able to provide answers in the right time and an extraordinary commissioner is always needed to speed up the procedures. However, dramatic events always also bring growth processes to the territories that suffer them, and it is completely natural that professionals make an important contribution to these processes”.