The third sector will be able to obtain assets confiscated from the mafia to start projects based on welfare Commitment, solidarity, legality. It is a one-of-a-kind call. The first that looks directly at those voluntary associations existing in Italy and for some time engaged in the social sector. It is issued by the National Agency for the administration and destination of assets seized and confiscated from organized crime. The board of directors has decided this in recent days and the guidelines will most likely be issued by mid-June. But let's see in detail what this initiative consists of. Because there are many confiscated properties in Italy and they can be reused.
Confiscated properties: presentation of projects has begun
The first call for the direct assignment to the Third Sector of definitively confiscated real estate should arrive in the coming weeks, as the director of the Agency Bruno Frattasi explained to the online newspaper Avvenire. It will be destined for a "substantial number of properties which are currently estimated to exceed 2-3 thousand real estate units". But in order to obtain these confiscated properties, it is necessary to proceed according to some fundamental steps. First of all, third sector subjects will be able to present projects for the functionalization and recovery of buildings. The sectors have also been established: from Commitment, looking and occupation, from health and prevention to culture and safety and legality. And then there will be a greater preference for projects that aim at social welfare and which will be supported by local administrations.
The confiscated properties will go directly to the associations and not to local authorities
The peculiarity of this announcement will be precisely that of assigning the confiscated properties directly to subjects of the third sector. In the past, the recipients were the administrations who then identified the subjects who had to manage them. The objective, as explained by the Agency, is precisely to streamline the procedures. But if there are projects carried out in partnership with the administrations, they will be evaluated, provided that the willingness to acquire ownership of the property is also foreseen.
A loan of 50 thousand euros for projects to be started
Often the greatest difficulty in promoting social projects concerns the resources available. And on this aspect too, the Agency was clear. In fact, the call provides that the most deserving projects can be guaranteed a contribution of up to fifty thousand euros. Resources derived from the latest Budget Law which allocated one million euros for each year for the three-year period 2020-2022.
"We have applied a recent rule of the Anti-Mafia Code - stressed to Avvenire Frattasi - and is addressed to all third sector subjects who will be able to bring their projects for social purposes, such as counseling centers, centers for the disabled, for youth problems, but also for cultural purposes. The call provides for eligibility criteria and conditions that will be verified on the merits, but also from the point of view of financial sustainability. In addition to the real estate made available, our contribution will also consist of sums of money already financed for this three-year period. "
The methods of assigning the assets
According to the guidelines established by the Agency, the properties should be entrusted with free-of-charge contracts lasting ten years. In order to guarantee continuity to projects aimed at young people, disabled elderly people. Between 2010 and 2018, over 65 movable and immovable assets, current accounts and companies were seized. Those assigned are 15 thousand, of which 12 thousand to Municipalities, Provinces and Regions. Among the regions in Sicily there are more than 6 thousand assets, in Calabria 2600, in Campania 2200, in Lombardy 1100 and Lazio over 500.
