“In recent years we have expressed our doubts several times about a project like that of the Bridge which, in the opinion of many technicians and administrators, highlights numerous gaps from a technical and financial point of view. We have always done so by always avoiding the idea of a purely ideological position, of a conviction assumed a priori, which cannot belong to those who deal with the progress of our territories on a daily basis”. This is what the mayor of Reggio Calabria Giuseppe Falcomatà stated in a note.
“The decision of the Court of Auditors which did not grant legitimacy to Cipess resolution no. 41/2025 only confirms the many doubts that, together with many fellow mayors, administrators, associations and citizens, we have raised in recent years. It is unacceptable – continues Falcomatà – that such an impactful work can go ahead despite the numerous formal and substantial irregularities, the latest in chronological order that of the Court of Auditors, which continue to emerge every day. A circumstance that suggests that the real objective is now linked not to the realization of the work, but to the enormous penalty that would be paid to private individuals in the event of termination of the contract. This penalty would also have been very useful in solving many problems in our territories”.
“We had asked that local communities be involved in the decision-making process – adds the mayor – so that it was not a project imposed from above. And that was not the case. And today, while waiting to know the Court’s reasons, which apparently concern economic coverage, traffic estimates, the project’s compliance with environmental regulations, with European rules on exceeding 50% of the initial cost and also the competence of Cipess itself, we express clear concern about the disjointed reactions that some government representatives have had on this affair, with threatening and defiant attitudes towards state bodies which highlight a clear and dangerous anti-democratic drift. The response cannot always be to cry conspiracy, blaming the judges, the judiciary, or anyone else who can serve to cover up enormous structural deficiencies, incorrect assessments and procedural errors”.
“For our part – explains Falcomatà – we are still waiting to receive clear answers regarding the dossier that we have presented to Salvini, who unfortunately continues to act as head of the League rather than as Minister of the Italian Republic. We do so in a responsible manner, speaking as always not with slogans, but on the merits of the issues, because we are convinced that the communities that live in these territories every day not only have the right to know, but are the first to have the right to represent the real priorities for the future of the Strait”.
“We are talking for example – lists the mayor – about the high-speed project from Salerno to Reggio Calabria, which has once again disappeared from the radar, about the funding cut for the Jonica 106 state road, about the doubling and electrification of the Ionian railway, about strategic road projects such as the Bovalino-Bagnara, about the internal connections in the Piana, about the dangerous situation of the Limina tunnel, about the cuts to the infrastructure projects of the Pnrr, on strategic assets such as healthcare, schools, plants sports, redevelopment of confiscated assets and forestation, funds for maintenance of metropolitan roads, bridges and viaducts that thousands of people travel every day to go to work or school, or unfortunately, in some cases with disastrous consequences, to reach the nearest health facility”.
“We would like national politics to discuss these aspects – he concludes -, not how bad the judges of the Court of Auditors are. Dear Meloni, dear Salvini, if you really want the good of the South, as you say on your electoral posters, come down from the tower and come to represent what the Government is doing for the true priorities of this land. Afterwards, if you want, we can also talk about the Bridge of nonsense that you have given us in recent years”.