Statement by Evanthia Savva, Head of the Social Policy Bureau of AKEL, on the emergency support allowance for the inhabitants of mountain areas

 

28 January 2022, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The cold weather prevailing throughout the island, combined with the increases in electricity and fuel prices, have made the situation really unbearable for the residents of mountainous and semi-mountainous areas. The emergency support allowance for the inhabitants of mountain areas is a temporary relief measure for a section of these citizens.

However, we believe that the method of calculating the 600-metre altitude criterion must be reviewed, given that it leaves local communities, but also households in these areas, out of the support allowance. There are many examples where neighbouring communities and even households are not treated in the same way as regards the emergency allowance.

The recent weather conditions raise anew the issue of the energy poverty that plagues a large percentage of the country’s population – a percentage that is one of the highest in Europe – and the need for a holistic approach to the problems faced by inhabitants of the mountainous areas of Cyprus.