“The transfer of OPEKEPE to the tax authority creates disruptions. The problem wasn’t OPEKEPE’s operating method, the major problem is the lack of human resources and proper IT tools that could perform cross-checks,” stated Andreas Katsaniotis speaking on Parapolitika 90.1.
Katsaniotis on Parapolitika 90.1: “OPEKEPE transfer to tax authority creates disruptions”
The New Democracy MP spoke on the show “Opposite Microphones” with journalists Sotiris Xenakis and Vasilis Skouris, emphasizing that the climate in the agricultural sector is difficult. Regarding delays in agricultural subsidy payments, he commented: “In total, the funds that remain to be paid approach 1.5 billion euros, and you understand that this money is included in each farmer’s annual budget. This is money they need to pay for agricultural supplies they’ve purchased, money they’ve calculated in their budget to pay workers who will start harvesting olives, so problems are created.”
When asked if OPEKEPE’s transfer to the tax authority was correct, Andreas Katsaniotis said: “That remains to be seen. I believe OPEKEPE was a policy-making tool and should have been strengthened as it was, but that remains to be seen. The Ministry of Rural Development is essentially the country’s only regional policy tool and the instrument for changing our production model. So we have a ministry where the technical service, all dams and water resources, went to the Infrastructure Ministry. All regional bodies of the ministry went to the regions, now we see OPEKEPE going to the tax authority – I realize that a ministry has been stripped down when it should have been strengthened with personnel… We don’t have a ministry with strong human resources that can shoulder the restructuring.”
He added: “Just as engineers are mandatorily transferred during earthquakes to conduct inspections, 100-150 agricultural engineers should be transferred to OPEKEPE, along with some surveyors, so that cross-checks can be done very quickly.”
Finally, when journalists asked “if he believes the climate in the agricultural sector is explosive,” the New Democracy MP said: “It’s obvious that the climate is difficult. I encountered dissatisfaction and difficulty.” He concluded by saying: “Livestock farmers whose animals were culled should be supported monthly in some way, regardless of the program that needs to be created for renewing livestock capital and compensating for the animals that were culled.”
