AKEL strongly disagrees with Anastasiades-DISY government’s policies and practices

 

Statement by AKEL MP Aristos Damianou following the examination of the Interior Ministry’s 2022 Budget at the Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee

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

The Ministry of Interior covers a wide range of responsibilities and policies related to internal governance. During the examination of its 2022 Budget, we raised numerous questions to the competent Minister, on the refugees/migration issue, housing and refugee policy, the absence of green development policies, urban planning, etc.

At the same time, we underlined our strong disagreement with specific policies and practices pursued by the Anastasiades-DISY government with regards the aforementioned issues.

The Ministry of Interior, former and current Ministers of the Anastasiades-DISY government, bear enormous responsibilities for the arbitrary actions of the Cyprus Investment Programme, which some have turned into a “get-rich-quick” programme, ‘golden’ passports and institutional entanglement/interwoven interests.

In the presence of the Interior Minister, we warned – yet again – about the agreement made with an Israeli state-owned company. A deal which concerns our sovereign rights and good governance.

We warned about the unacceptable and illegal procedures for the push back policy and returning migrants in boats, no matter what the government says, which are just lame excuses and leave our country exposed for violations of international law.

We also raised issues of special interest that affect the quality of life of thousands of citizens, such as the need to review housing policy with broader social criteria, flood control projects, the works needed to deal with rock slides or soil movement, the strengthening of firefighting and, of course, the very important issue of the reform of local government, which is currently under discussion – as we know – in the Parliamentary Internal Affairs Committee.