The General Secretary of AKEL replies to journalists’ questions on the Presidential Elections and price increases

 

9 March 2022, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

On the Presidential Elections

QUESTION: How is AKEL’s effort for change in the governance of the country progressing?

SS: As we have said, the country needs change because the government of the DISY party has provoked a series of very serious deadlocks in very important areas that determine the course of our country and people. To achieve that change, to maximise whatever preconditions and opportunities exist, and they do indeed exist, to achieve change. We seek to cooperate with the opposition parties and with all those who share with us the need that exists to bring change. A change on progressive terms and with a progressive content. We therefore will have a new meeting with the Democratic Party DIKO to continue the dialogue we have started and we will certainly seek to have a meeting with other opposition parties. This is where we are right now.

QUESTION: When will the meeting with DIKO take place?

SS: It has not been arranged yet. This meeting will take place soon, it’s just that each party is doing its own groundwork. We have not yet spoken to the other parties, once we have spoken we will be able to have a clearer picture and we will let you know.

QUESTION: Will there be any names on the table at this second meeting?

SS: We shall see how things will develop because we are still in the preliminary discussion seeking consensus and convergences that we must discuss. At some point the question of the names (for a joint opposition candidate) will come in, I’m not sure if it will be at the next meeting, but at some point we will get into that discussion. You can’t have a presidential election without names…

QUESTION: Are you ready to make concessions as AKEL to the name of the president of DIKO as a candidate for the presidency?

SS: AKEL’s position is well known and from there onwards whatever we say we will first discuss it with our potential allies.

On price hikes/increases

QUESTION: Regarding AKEL’s proposal for a cap on fuel prices, the Minister of Finance explained to RIK TV recently that if a cap is currently put on fuel prices, in case the price of oil increases internationally, there may be shortages in the market – how do you comment on this?

SS: What we have said is that the government must activate all the mechanisms available to the state so that it should first of all confront the price hikes which usually occur when there are increases in the prices of goods and not only in fuel, but elsewhere too.

Secondly, the cap is used not only in case of price hikes/increases, but also in case you need to provide relief to households and businesses when there is a sharp increase in prices.

As it is obvious that a sharp increase in prices will follow, the government must act both to protect the economy and society and also to see how it deals with price increases and I repeat not only in fuel, on other goods too in which we have a problem. For example, what about the question of grain/cereals? The government has closed down the Cyprus Grain Commission and left the issue of grain, which is a strategic issue, to an oligopoly, it is obvious that the government has not sought to implement the law on strategic reserves/stocks. It will have to see what the government does. It is its own responsibility.

AKEL has proposed a number of measures and not only to use the cap which must be used, but also for other things which relate to the price of electricity, to protect the price of other goods, to enable Cyprus to secure the prospect in relation to securing a number of raw materials and other essential goods that we have, which is primarily the responsibility of the government to secure.

I just want to remind you that we have been shouting about price increases/hikes for a long time because the government is cultivating the impression that now we will have price increases because of the situation in Ukraine. Prices have been on the rise for a long time, it will become more pronounced now because of the situation in Ukraine, it is obvious that it will happen, so first of all the government needs to react quickly and try to always work for the benefit of society and the economy. It has taken two specific measures, we have said that they are in the right direction, but they are not enough. More will have to be taken. We are here, ready and have elaborated proposals. We are waiting for the government to call us to outline our views.

QUESTION: The government has ordered 36 tons of grain from abroad, so it has taken some action…

SS: The government must be asked, since the issue was raised in October, what has it done? AKEL has been telling the government since October to use the silos that exist in Limassol and to discuss the issue with the three importers. Since then it should have secured Cyprus’ strategic reserves. It’s evident that the government did nothing and now it is running around to secure and sources, because it has a problem with Ukraine and Russia, at much higher prices.

The government says nothing about all this. It is following developments. At some point it will tell us about all these problems that were raised yesterday in the Parliamentary Agriculture Committee again by the protagonists. The government on many of these issues had no answers. The communication games that the government engages in for internal consumption purposes can only last up to a certain point. From there on wards, the problems begin.

We are interested in addressing the problems in a timely manner. AKEL has since then put forth specific proposals. The government has now discovered that it has a problem with price increases/hikes, in fact it has a problem with the grain. If it had acted proactively, we might have been in a better situation today.

I would like to clarify things so that the government does not start accusing by distorting what we are saying. We have never said that the price stability problem entirely arose as a result of government policies. Clearly there have been increases in basic goods internationally for several months now. The government should have acted then and secondly increases in goods like electricity and fuel are partly due to the fact that the government either did not take the decisions it should have taken early on or took the wrong decisions.

We are paying tens of millions of euros for pollutants. Do you want me to tell you how many times the government has repeated since 2013 that it will bring in gas for power generation purposes and why it has not brought it in and how much we are paying? Who is responsible for that?

Who is responsible: Is it the opposition that cried foul or is it the government that every year was pledging that it would bring Natural Gas and everyone is still waiting for it to come?

For that reason, we do not want it to appear right now – and we do not – that we want to take advantage of the situation to criticise the government. We aren’t engaging in criticism. We are making proposals, but the government has not even agreed to discuss these proposals.

When we managed to get AKEL’s proposal for the reduction of VAT from 19% to 9% approved by the majority of Parliament, is it not the government that referred and sent the bill to the Supreme Court?

When we talked about the need for other regulations such as ending the half cent per kilowatt hour fee for renewable energy purposes why did the government not discuss it?

Whenever we make a proposal the government comes and rejects it and says we pretty much don’t know the situation. I think everyone can judge us. AKEL elaborates and puts forth proposals. And when AKEL asked the President to convene the Council of Political Leaders to discuss the situation as it is evolving, we did so to contribute to the reflection and submit proposals. And that’s what the AKEL as the main opposition force is doing with a lot of responsibility and concern for what will happen to the country.