Economy, development, visions. Analysis of the current state of health of the city, but, above all, proposals. In organizing the confrontation between the mayoral candidates Federico Basile (South calls North), Antonella Russo (Centre-left), Gaetano Sciacca (Rinascita Messina) and Marcello Scurria (Centre-right) – absent Lillo Valvieri –, Sicindustria wanted to listen to the programs starting, however, from its own programme. A dossier document delivered to everyone by president Giuseppe Lupò, vice president Alessandra Iuculano, past president Pietro Franza and councilor Ivo Blandina, during the debate moderated by Emilio Pintaldi and broadcast last night by “Scirocco”, the RTP talk show.
The first hundred days
For Scurria the first step will be «starting a control room to understand the state of the art on financing, a topic on which there is little clarity, and on the rebalancing plan», while Sciacca turns straight to the key point of his program: «The first thing I would do is a resolution to modify the PUMs, because it is an unsustainable mobility plan. And then a plan for the recovery and safety of the building heritage.” According to Russo, the priority is “laying the foundations for an economic development plan, an ecosystem that brings together several pieces of the city and initiating real youth policies”. For Basile «it would be a recovery, with the last installment of the rebalancing plan we will put our hands on the new regulation of administrative decentralization. Therefore a commercial plan, over the first two months, and the creation of an attractive center for young people in the two pavilions of the former Fair».
The Pug
It is the first issue raised by President Lupò and it is a crucial issue: the general urban plan. That is, the vision of the future city.
«Construction has always been a driver of development, but we have been able to lose these professionalisms – says Sciacca -. I don’t seem to see works that have created development and well-being, there has only been a waste of public money with useless and non-compliant cycle paths.” Russo defines the numbers (starting from the registry, minus 21 thousand inhabitants in the last 12 years, ed.) provided by the president as «alarming. There was no desire on the part of the outgoing mayor to speed up the general urban plan. Creating individual detailed plans has only created problems, we are for a policy of zero land consumption.” Basile explains what was the genesis of the general directives of the Pug, the need for revision linked to the Bridge and what the vision is «which in general is divided between the urban area, the metropolitan city and the Strait area», while in the territory he distinguishes «the northern area for the landscape pole, the central northern area for the port pole, the central area for technological innovation, the southern area for the intermodal hub». The Pug? «Better late than never – observes Scurria –, given that the assignment to the prof. Gasperrini dates back to 2016. We need a real urban regeneration operation, the model is that of the Ca.bis. project, in Camaro Bisconte. Wounds that have remained there for decades must be mended, with blame distributed to everyone, without exceptions.”
The Health Council
This is the proposal of vice president Iuculano, who recalls how “the health industry is the main economic engine of the city”. An idea that everyone likes, that of the Consulta: from Russo (“I’m thinking of widespread housing, of B&Bs near hospitals, of a mobility network serving healthcare facilities”) to Basile (“the Consulta can be an element of support, but also of dialogue”), from Scurria (“the mayor is the highest local health authority, when has he ever used this prerogative? We need to make an impact, and we can do it with the mayors’ conference, which I will convene every six months”) in Sciacca (“it is already a point in our program, coordination and co-planning are the most important elements”).