Wasteful regional spending 82.3 bn say retailers

Sicily top, then Lazio and Campania

(ANSA) - Cernobbio, March 21 - Retailers' association Confcommercio on Friday said Italy's regions were wasting 82.3 billion euros of taxpayers' money each year. Sicily was top with 13.8 billion followed by Lazio with 11.1 billion and Campania with 10.7 billion.

The regions that wasted the least were Lombardy, which reportedly spent all its funds well, and Val D'Aosta, which wasted just 0.7 billion.

Regional spending is one of the many targets for spending cuts being lined up by Matteo Renzi's government.

The government's spending czar, Carlo Cottarelli, has identified five billion euros he says can be cut from the public sector in the next eight months including thousands of jobs.

But Renzi has said that is not the final figure, and the government will pick and choose from Cottarelli's list that includes savings on top pensions, bloat in the healthcare sector, unnecessary military outlays and red tape in general.