Transparency and good governance of the charitable foundations of Nafpaktos

On Sunday the established since 1996 annual event for the Benefactors - Donors of the province of Nafpaktos took place in Nafpaktos.

In the morning, in the cathedral of St. Demetrius of Nafpaktos, an archieratical divine Liturgy memorial for all Benefactors and Donors of the city was celebrated.

The following benefactors were commemorated: Metropolitans Seraphim, Christophoros and Damascinos, Basiliki and Dimitrios Papacharalambous, George and Maria Athanasiadi-Nova, Andreas Andreopoulos, Andreas Tsaras, George Kapordelis, Andrew and Julia Kozoni, Gabriel Oikonomou, Dimitrios Asimakopoulos, Dimitrios Ploumis, Epaminondas and Catherine Arvanitis, Efthimios Vardakoulas, Dimitrios and Egli Botsari, Leonidas and Polyxene Tsonis, Altana Floropoulos, Athena Plati, John Foutzilas, Paraskevi and Michael Garmani, Aristotle and Vasiliki Xanthopoulou, Aristides Kalaritis, Helen Kotantoula- Sakellaris, Dimitrios Galanis, Lambros Tzavellas, Leonidas Charalampous-Kolokythas, Nicholas Tsaras Constantine Kozonis, John Vardakoulas and Anthony and Panagiota Anastasopoulou.

Then, after the treat offered by the "Association of Agape" in the Parish church hall, there followed in the Cultural Center of the diocese the annual public reporting on Foundations and Endowments of the city.

Bishop Hierotheos, as President of almost all institutions, referred to his twenty-year presence in the presidency of these institutions and the principles and values of transparency, legality and sound administration implemented all these years in contrast to the situation received, which he politely described as "improper functioning" of the institutions.

He reminded that the work of all members of the Boards, which he thanked, is offered selflessly and emphasized the substantial assistance provided by the Metropolis with the Priests of the Office and the Secretary on the handling of the issues that concern them. Significant assistance in this matter is offered by Mr. Athanasios Michos, ex-Head of the Endowments Directorate of the Decentralized Administration, whom His Eminence also thanked.

In addition to existing Foundations and Endowments operational problems that have been descried in other similar public reports, such as the difficulty of collecting the rents which constitute the main means of serving the objectives of the foundations, His Eminence mentioned particularly the high income taxation and property tax (ENFIA) which absorb the greatest part of revenues, citing specific numbers.

Also, His Eminence criticized the tendency of certain individuals and institutions which seek to use the Foundations for their own benefit and thereby to degrade them.

He then informed the citizens on the facts of the year 2014 and presented the financial report for 2014.

Particular reference was made to MO.F.I. Foundation C. Kapourdeli - I. Xyki. His Eminence informed citizens about the ending of a directed slanderous campaign against him, which had arisen in 2013 for the building of the Nursing Home of the Foundation. He informed them about the results of the Auditors of IKA, of the Audit Management Report of the Ministry of Finance Inspectors, and the report of the district Attorney, that demonstrated that there was not even a shadow of mismanagement or omissions in the construction of the building. At the same time he denounced those responsible for the slanderous campaign for the cessation of operations and the delay in this very important project for all the society of Nafpaktos, which would benefit directly at least a hundred families and indirectly the whole Province.

Finally, His Eminence thanked the members of the Councils and Committees, the legal adviser Mr. Dimitrios Pelekis, who currently takes care of rental property in Athens and works for the solution of complex legal problems and procedures, Mr. Athanasios Michos, who supports the effort with his knowledge, and all the secretaries and  assistants in the work.

Along with His Eminence, sitting in the Chair, were the Mayor of Nafpaktos, Panagiotis Loukopoulos, the President of the Kolokythas Foundation, John Raptis, the Director of the 1st Lyceum of Nafpaktos Mrs. Mary Bothou and Mr. Athanasios Nochos.

Mayor Panagiotis Loukopoulos particularly emphasized the contribution of the great benefactor of the city Dimitrios Papacharalambous to the raising of the intellectual level of the residents through the Papacharalambios Public Library and wished progress to the prize winners, students and pupils.

Mr. John Raptis, President of the Kolokythas Foundation and Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Nafpaktos, spoke about the history of the Foundation whose deliberate dissolution he had prevented in the past, emphasized the high level of fellows of our region, and in particular of the Kolokythas Foundation, and stressed the successes they achieve in their careers after completing their studies.

He proposed that the Foundation fellows can help from the positions they now hold as professionals to support young students who want to study abroad. Concerning the Nursing-Home he submitted his testimony that this is an excellent work, almost finished, which in market terms was done with much less money than that required for similar buildings.

Ms. Maria Bothou congratulated the scholarship students and she advised them to pay attention to the press releases and to take care to maintain their good performance.

From those attending, Mr. Sotirios Tsiligiannis ex member of the MO.F.I. C. Kapourdeli - I. Xyki Foundation, praised the operation of institutions which is completely transparent. The ex-President of "Nafpaktiaki Brotherhood" Mr. Dimitris Papaioannou, addressed the issue of the Foundation Kapourdeli-Xyki, saying that American Nafpaktians have an excellent opinion for the Bishop of their hometown, and they are informed of the competent judicial confirmation of perfect management for the Foundation G. Kapourdeli - I. Xyki.  He said that the problem was mainly created by various intermediaries, slanderers, and he informed the public that the Nafpaktiaki Brotherhood has approved a donation to the Nursing Home, which had been frozen because of the slanderous campaign.

Finally Mr. Athanasios Michos, ex-Head of the Directorate of Endowments of the Decentralized Administration, assured from an official standpoint the flawless functioning of the foundations of Nafpaktos, which are the best in the whole Region of Western Greece and that the Directorate of the Region "presented the public reporting which was established the by His Eminence as an example for all the institutions of Greece". He spoke about the seminar that took place in Papacharalabeios for members of the Boards of the Foundations and finally said "Nafpaktia is lucky for two things: to have so many donors in its region and secondly that His Eminence is president in all these institutions."

Finally, awards, prizes, scholarships and financial aid were given to students. After the approval of the decisions by the Directorate of Endowments of the Decentralized Administration, forty-four pupils and students received or will receive 52850 euros, a substantial sum for their studies in the times of crisis we are going through.

If the 13000 euros in grants of the Papacharalambios Foundation for the year 2014 are added, the total amount allocated for scholarships, awards, study aids and grants for the year 2014 stands at 65850 euro.