Cooperation between K. Hatzidakis and SEF Management for the relocation projects of KEPA

The site where the Disability Certification Centers (KEPA) will be relocated to the Peace and Friendship Stadium, from the current facilities of Piraeus, was visited today by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Kostis Hatzidakis.

Mr. Hatzidakis met with the Chairman of the Board. of SEF, Christina Tsiligiris, the coordinating director of SEF, Panagiotis Koutsogiannis and the deputy coordinating director, Dimitris Bardakas, as well as with technicians who handle the issue and discussed ways to speed up the relocation of the KEPA buildings to the new CHEF. The Management pledged to make every effort to ensure that the projects proceed without delay.

The demolition of the existing constructions will be done in the next few days in order to build the new space of 1,200 sq.m. of KEPA, with 26 rooms, warehouses, etc. The new facilities will be modern and will have heating, air conditioning and parking spaces.

Afterwards, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Kostis Hatzidakis, addressed a conference on the accessibility of the disabled in public and public places, entitled “Access Everywhere”, which took place at SEF, on the occasion of the 3rd of December, World Disability.

Mr. Hatzidakis noted that the relocation of KEPA is only one of the projects promoted by the Government for people with disabilities. Especially for the accessibility measures, the Minister reminded that “we secured funding through the Recovery Fund for the accessibility of our fellow human beings with disabilities in: 4,000 private residences, 700 private workplaces, 300 public workplaces and 17 social welfare centers”.

These initiatives are combined, as Mr. Hatzidakis stressed, with measures that are now state law, after the adoption of the law on the modernization of spatial planning, during his tenure at the Ministry of Environment and Energy. These are:

· The obligation for both existing and new buildings to submit an accessibility study and to be adapted from the ground floor to the top floor, to a new vertical accessibility.

· The incentives to enhance the accessibility of buildings, with the possibility of installing structures, such as special ramps outside the road line, the addition of elevators in buildings, where there was no relevant provision in the original building permit.

· Constructions that serve people with special needs (wide stairs, elevators) should no longer be counted in the building factor. And can be added without the consent of all co-owners.

· The obligation of accessibility of persons with disabilities or disabled persons in the common areas of the building, in any case of change of use of the building or building space. Otherwise the construction is considered arbitrary!

In addition, at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Mr. Hatzidakis noted, “we are developing initiatives and promoting actions aimed at facilitating the daily lives of our fellow human beings with disabilities and defending their rights.” In this context:

· Within 2022, the disability card will be implemented, within 2022.

· The personal assistant was instituted, for 1,000 people with disabilities (and their respective assistants) in the first phase, satisfying a permanent request of the disability movement.

· The suffering of our disabled fellow citizens with amputations and other irreversible diseases has come to an end, as they will no longer have to go through committees again and again for the certification of the same disability.

“Day for people with disabilities is every day of the year. Every day we must be next to these fellow human beings, as whatever we do for them is not enough”, concluded Mr. Hatzidakis.