AKEL proposes easy and low-interest credits outside the mechanisms of the banks
AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Stefanos Stefanou on government bills
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 8th May 2020, Nicosia
We cannot express an opinion on the bills announced by the government because they haven’t been sent to the House of Representatives and we don’t have them. Without studying something – let alone such serious documents – we cannot express our position. However, because the government has been saying throughout this period that it is consulting the parties, we clarify that it hasn’t had any consultation or exchange whatsoever with the main opposition party. It perhaps has had discussions with other parties in order to secure a parliamentary majority.
Since the beginning of the crisis, AKEL has argued that households and businesses should be supported by the state in order to survive. We cannot however know if the government’s bill to support businesses is moving in the right direction.
Regarding the issue of state guarantees for loans to companies through the banks, we recall that AKEL submitted a specific proposal for easy and low-interest credits outside the mechanisms of the banks. A similar mechanism is being applied in Greece. The government insists on the logic of state guarantees to the banks.
Regarding the proposal on rents, what we first and foremost note is that the government, though belatedly – and after much pressure exerted on the part of AKEL, but also from other parties and organized groups – is bringing forth a proposal. This is a step, but it must be judged by its content.
