Measures need to be taken to address the issue of expensiveness

 

Letter from the General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL to the President of the Republic

25 August 2023, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The General Secretary of the Central Committee of AKEL, Stefanos Stefanou, sent a letter today to the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, on the issue of the problem of expensiveness and the need for the government to take measures to tackle it.

The letter follows:

When your government proceeded with the termination of the support measures to address the issue of expensiveness, especially the measures for motor fuels and electricity, this was done with the main argument put forward that a reduction in their prices was foreseen.

Not only has the government’s assessment not been confirmed, but on the contrary, the price of fuel has risen and a big increase in the price of electricity is also expected. In addition, the increase in lending rates is putting additional pressure on households and businesses with the potential for an increase in non-performing loans.

The decline in consumption, which has been recorded recently, is not unrelated to the decline in household’s purchasing power due to the decline in their purchasing power as a result of expensiveness. At the same time, the economy’s growth is being squeezed because of the ‘very expensive electricity’, as the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry has very recently stated.

Developments have demonstrated that the termination of the support measures was premature and erroneous. The continuation and acceleration of the whole situation with the high cost of essential goods, reinforces the urgent need for measures to support society and the economy, with the emphasis on small and medium-sized households and businesses, as well as the vulnerable groups of the population.

As AKEL we are ready to discuss with you the proposals we have for some time been putting forward for support measures.