Statement by AKEL MP Aristos Damianou and Chairman of the Parliamentary Internal Affairs Committee, after the joint meeting of the Environment and Internal Affairs Committees

 

8 June 2022

In a lengthy joint session of the Parliamentary Environment and Internal Affairs Committees, we examined the environmental and urban planning aspects of the Akamas Local Plan currently being prepared.

I must note that over the last few weeks, we have been receiving worrying information about the planning for a so-called “soft” development of the Akamas area, which will lead to the destruction of this ecosystem of which we are all proud of.

We have today heard from all the relevant government agencies, involved local communities, non-governmental and environmental organisations. The debate will continue at our next meeting.

Since last March, when the Reform of Local Government had been approved, this was put in danger because of the government’s refusal to accept the new Akamas Municipality that had been agreed on the grounds that it supposedly alters the Akamas Local Plan.  Since then, and because the Local Plan was invoked in the President of the Republic’s referral of the Law, we had requested that the Local Plan be tabled in the House of Representatives. There was then a refusal by the Minister of the Interior to do so, who cited the existing legislation relating to Town and Country Planning.

As we shouldn’t hide behind our finger, today, as Chairman of the Internal Affairs Committee and with the agreement of the co-chairman of the Environment Committee, we have given the relevant Ministry a 24-hour deadline to consult its legal adviser and give us an official reply as to whether any of its own regulations go beyond the obligation to be accountable to Parliament. It is our strong belief that no one is above parliamentary scrutiny. We will expect compliance by tomorrow with the requirement to submit the Local Plan being prepared, which everyone is talking about, but very few people know about and certainly not the MP’s.

As a result of the debate, we reiterated some positions of principle, which I will briefly outline: people and the environment should not be in conflict, but in harmony. It is true that certain local communities are wronged because of their geographical position and their constraints in relation to development, but the restoration of their rights must not be at the expense of the environment. Therefore, we believe in the protection of the environment, respect for laws, conventions that have been ratified by the Republic of Cyprus on the environment, sustainability in development and certainly sensitivity should be shown towards the number of legitimate demands raised by the local communities affected by the fact that they are located in the Akamas region.

I stress that we will continue the debate. We will not permit any interests, private, political or otherwise, to override the need to continue the protection of the Akama region. At the same time, legitimate demands can be addressed in many ways, with a sense of urgency, because people are indeed negatively affected and forced to leave their areas. For that reason, the necessary balance needs to be struck and we do not believe that the draft Local Plan under preparation achieves this balance.