Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
LENTINI – A well-attended and tense extraordinary open meeting of Lentini’s municipal council was held last night, devoted entirely to the long-running and increasingly critical emergency of the town’s water supply. The debate, strongly promoted and backed by the local Fratelli d’Italia group alongside exasperated residents, laid bare the deep flaws in the management of the Integrated Water Service and the political responsibilities of the current governance structure.
Taking part in the civic assembly were the national FdI MP Luca Cannata, the municipal councillor Rossana Fangano and the party’s local coordinator Antonio Pino. Also present were a representative of the ATI Idrico Liistro and MP Gilistro, while the total absence of the top officials of Aretusacque—the mixed public-private company tasked with managing the service at provincial level—sparked discussion.
MP Cannata’s broadside: “Privatisation push and absent politics”
In his detailed speech, the national MP Luca Cannata expressed a position of harsh condemnation towards the managing bodies and the choices that have led to the current stalemate and service failures for the people of Lentini:
“Water is one of the most crucial issues for our area. In 2025, under the 2015 regional law, it was established that all municipalities must unite to manage the integrated water service. Owing to deficient political management, we have ended up with a mixed governance model: public control and a private operator with a 49% stake selected through a tender. Today, unfortunately, the private sector is calling the shots precisely because of these political failings.”
Cannata then strongly criticised the lack of institutional dialogue during the meeting, recalling what had already happened in Syracuse:
“On 28 August, the majority of mayors voted in the members of the Oversight Committee for the ATI. Today, there is no one from the ATI leadership at this council: a sign of disinterest towards Lentini and towards the difficulties of its residents. The Committee is not carrying out the required oversight and politics has ended up colonising the water service. The results are there for all to see: look at what has happened in Syracuse, where service quality has deteriorated and slipped from the grasp of those, like Italia, Carta and the others, who thought they could run the service as if it were their own home—yet the outcomes have been dire.”
The FdI MP indicated to the municipal administration led by mayor Rosario Lo Faro the necessary course of action to protect citizens:
“Lentini’s municipal administration must pursue this battle firmly: it is essential to formally request all documents and to suspend the handover of the plants until adequate quality standards for citizens are guaranteed. This is a fundamental issue for the future of our area.”
Councillor Fangano’s appeal: “Citizens demand immediate answers”
Municipal councillor Rossana Fangano also spoke passionately, giving voice to the severe hardships faced by Lentini’s families and businesses:
“Citizens need answers now! We cannot passively wait to see whether Aretusacque takes over direct management of the plants. Immediate action is needed to guarantee the basic right to drinking water.”
The councillor finally condemned the absence of local and provincial representatives from other political forces during the chamber’s proceedings:
“We note with bitterness the absence of the other political forces, from the MPA to the PD, who are presumably uninterested in the pleas for help from the people of Lentini, tired and resigned to having to live daily with the lack of water.”
The outcome of the open municipal council now commits the local municipal executive to take a firm stance towards the ATI and the private operator, with the aim of blocking the handover of the plants until the water network is fully restored to efficiency.
