Statements by the General Secretary of AKEL A.Kyprianou on his meeting with the President of the Republic
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 23rd December 2020, Nicosia
The Cyprus problem
Besides the state budget, we also discussed the Cyprus problem with the President of the Republic, in the light of the letter we had handed him about two weeks ago. The President of the Republic has studied our letter and expressed some initial reactions.
Our position is both our request and appeal to the President of the Republic to realize that time is running very dangerously out for Cyprus and the Cypriot people. If we do not manage Turkey to annul Turkey’s provocative and aggressive actions, if we do not manage to put an end to the new fait accompli it is trying to carry out in Famagusta and create those preconditions that will enable the resumption of a meaningful dialogue, with a view to resolving the Cyprus problem on the basis of the agreed framework, things will prospectively be extremely difficult for Cyprus, but above all for our children, for our grandchildren and for the perspective of the people on our island.
I hope and wish that the New Year will bring the hope again that something can at long last be done on the Cyprus problem and that we can achieve the resumption of the negotiations, with the aim of reaching an agreement which, as I have said previously, must be based on the relevant Resolutions of the United Nations, the High-Level Agreements, international law and the principles on which the EU is founded, that is to say, a solution of a Bi-zonal Bicommunal Federation with political equality as defined in the relevant Resolutions of the UN.
On AKEL’s proposals for the 2021 state budget
I met with the President of the Republic today and during our meeting I gave him AKEL’s proposals on the changes that must be made – in our opinion of course – in the 2021 state budget and we exchanged some views on the issue of the budget.
The President of the Republic will give our proposals to the government’s team on the economy. He promised me that when the Government prepares the new budget before submitting it to the House of Representatives, he will discuss it with AKEL’s team on the economy, so that they can inform us. AKEL will discuss and take its own decisions in the light of the changes that will be made in the new budget to be submitted to the House of Representatives.
Of course I will repeat that we are under no illusions whatsoever. We know that things are not so simple and easy, given that we have a different philosophy from that of the government on the economic policy that should be implemented and this is something that we certainly take very seriously into account.
Today we will give you the proposals that we have handed to the President of the Republic in very general terms. We didn’t go into details. AKEL is very interested in the field of public health, and we had submitted 18 proposals to the government since last May on what should have been done in the event of possible second wave of the pandemic. AKEL believes that these proposals should be studied and taken into account by the government, especially those concerning the need to support public hospitals.
We are strongly interested on the issue regarding the protection of small primary homes and small businesses premises, the issue of the primary home up to 350,000 euros. We have also discussed with the President of the Republic the issue of the need not to refer the bill to suspend foreclosures until March.
We have also given him numerous positions on other issues too. I will mention just some so that people know. The issue of rents is an important issue that concerns small and medium size businesses, but also the matter of the family budget. We believe that the rent issue should be resolved with a proposal whereby the state will assume part of the rent, the other the landlord and the third part the tenant.
We are very interested in the policies pursued regarding working people. There should be an extension of worker’s contracts/agreements. There should be legislation passed that makes the basic terms of the agreed collective agreements mandatory for all workers in the areas of economic activity covered by contracts, based on what was done permit me to say in the hotel and construction sector. We are interested in setting a minimum wage. We believe that there should be a three-pronged mechanism for setting a minimum wage by sector and also that there should be minimum employment conditions that must be regulated by legislation.
An emergency scheme for the provision of socio-economic support for families who have been unemployed for a long time must be implemented. Among other things, which should also concern inter alia the issue of housing, i.e. rents, installments, etc. Financial support should also be given to families with children who are studying.
Permanent vacancies/posts in the public sector must be filled, especially in the areas of health, education, social care and tax compliance. With regards housing policy, we believe that housing policy must be elaborated to subsidise the purchase of homes by young couples and families on low-wages. We also propose a programme for the construction of homes and flats with low rents or leasing. A comprehensive network of infant, toddler and child care infrastructures should be set up by the state, in cooperation with local authorities, a subsidy covering childcare costs, the introduction of a paid parental leave scheme and an increase in maternity leave and the provision of support for single-parent families. We insist that the 12% reduction of the pension of those who choose to retire at 63 must be abolished and that there should be an increase in expenses for people with disabilities. Furthermore, AKEL proposes the introduction of taxes on large immovable property. These are just some, I would say most of them that we have proposed to the President of the Republic.
I repeat that depending on how the new budget will be formed, as AKEL we shall study the whole issue and decide what position we will take in the House of Representatives. However, let me point out once again the difference in philosophy that we have with the government as to the priorities that the state budget must have.
