AKEL wants Presidents decentralized federation document discussed at the National Council

 

Statements by the General Secretary of AKEL Stefanos Stefanou, during his visit to the communities of Tembria, Kaliana, Galata

7 November 2021, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

A large AKEL delegation headed by the General Secretary of AKEL and including AKEL MEP G.  Georgiou, AKEL District Secretary of Nicosia-Kyrenia and MP Chr. Christofides and other members of our District Organisation, P. Hambas, General Secretary of the Union of Cypriot Farmers EKA and local AKEL militants, are on a tour of the area of Solias today, and not by chance. This is a mountainous region at a time when price hikes are putting a lot of pressure on consumers, households, producers, small and medium-sized enterprises.

For that reason, we came here as a continuation of the contacts we are developing with society and the common people, to see how price hikes affects life in mountain areas more. The fact is that there are indeed many problems here because of the increase in fuel prices and the cost of heating which is most needed in mountain areas, the increase in the price of electricity and in basic necessities.

It is imperative that the government abandons its apathetic and indifferent attitude and demonstrates a real interest in protecting consumers from price hikes and to see how it can offer relief to households and producers through specific measures. At the same time it must also see how it supports the inhabitants of mountainous areas with specific policies and measures.

The measures announced by the government have deficiencies and problems. Although we have made many representations to the government recently, unfortunately we have ascertained an unwillingness to even discuss improvements to them. As now the need is even greater, we call on the government to respond to our desire, intention and efforts to contribute so that the problems can be addressed.

I must recall that it is on AKEL’s initiative that the Cyprus Electricity Authority at long last decided to take on part of the increase in the price of electricity for a four-month period. I must also recall that last Thursday AKEL tabled a specific legislative proposal for the reduction of the VAT rate on the price of electricity from 19 to 9%. Cyprus ranks above the EU average in terms of energy poverty. So we have to see how consumers are protected. The VAT reduction is in the toolkit that the European Commission has prepared recommending that member states use it to help society. We don’t see the government doing anything.

We as the opposition Party, as the party that cares about the common people, workers, vulnerable groups, pensioners on low pensions and all those who need the state’s support and warmth, will continue submitting our proposals and our contacts with the people in order to provide support to society.

Q: There has been intense speculation, certain names are being written and suggested (about who AKEL intends to support in the presidential elections). Are the procedures at an advanced stage?

SS: You can see me smiling because it isn’t the press or whispers that will decide what AKEL will do, but the members of AKEL themselves who will decide for AKEL through the procedures laid down in its Party Statutes. Therefore, I will not add to this scenario that comes and goes and we listen to it and just smile, because we have not even discussed it and from here one can understand how much truth there is in this scenario.

Q: What’s your comment on the “Kathimerini” press report about the President’s document on decentralised federation?

SS: During the last National Council meeting we had asked the President to inform us what the content of the position he has been adopting is for the last four years on decentralized federation. He simply said that he had prepared a working paper which he had indeed handed to us. Given that he told us that it was confidential we didn’t even say that we had that document and we didn’t even give it to anybody. We do not know who has made this document public but I must say this: we sent a letter about a month ago to the President of the Republic asking for a special session of the National Council to discuss this document because we believe that it would be beneficial to discuss such type of documents between us in the National Council and not for the document to become the subject of public debate, possibly even controversy and counter-arguments.

The second thing I’d like to say is that what is included as an initial idea, that there should be a delegation of implementation of competences from the central government within the federation to the federated regions, is something that is included in the existing convergences recorded, hence it isn’t something new.

That is all I would like to comment on for the moment, because we are ready to express our views within the National Council and I would not want to violate what we believe, that these issues should be discussed at the level of the National Council and not be the subject of public debate.