The General Secretary of the Central Committee of AKEL visits the “Pedomana” nursery

 

20 November 2023, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

On the occasion of World Children’s Day and within the context of AKEL’s “Young Parents at the Forefront” campaign, an AKEL delegation headed by General Secretary of the Party Stefanos Stefanou visited the “Pedomana” nursery.

In his statements, Stefanos Stefanou stated that “we combined both opportunities to come and visit this Centre, to talk to the teachers and to see the various issues and problems it faces, which do not only apply to this specific Centre”.

“There is a big problem in Cyprus regarding first of all the number of nurseries, just 70 out of 370 are state-run,” the Party’s General Secretary noted, stressing that “they are not sufficient to meet the needs that exist for young parents.” Stefanos Stefanou pointed out that as they have been told “a girl, a couple when they decide to have a child need to work out a whole plan, to determine whether there is a nursery near them, to pre-book places. This alone proves that the number is insufficient and that the state must intervene to increase the number of nurseries significantly so that needs can be met.

Of course, said the Secretary General of AKEL, “a lot of work is also needed for the existing structures. State aid has been significantly reduced since 2013, when the crisis was ongoing. The funds allocated have remained at the same levels, while the needs have risen enormously”. Moreover, there is a need, St. Stefanou underlined, for “the state to increase the funds allocated because this is an investment that our country and society urgently needs”.

Furthermore, the General Secretary of AKEL noted, “it is no coincidence that there is a serious problem of low-birth rate in Cyprus. For example, a young couple needs to take many things into account, including where to leave their child and to be sure that it will receive the necessary care, education and support and that there will be enough time because such structures frequently close earlier so that it’s not convenient for parents. When looking at this whole situation in detail one understands that there are too many problems that need to be addressed.”

“AKEL has submitted relevant Bill proposals in Parliament – where and when it can, as we know that Parliament cannot increase budget expenditure and from time to time there have been debates in Parliament on AKEL’s initiative on these issues,” said the General Secretary of AKEL, noting that “next week there will also be a debate on the ex-officio issue that AKEL has registered on Local Community Volunteerism Councils.”

Concluding his remarks, the General Secretary of AKEL pointed out that “through our campaign we are highlighting once again the various problems that exist, where we can legislate we will act again, but in general we are pointing out the problems and demanding the state’s intervention so that this huge issue can be adequately addressed”.

“When we talk about young couples, we are talking about the young generation. It is not enough for declarations to be made that the young generation are our country’s future….we must support young families and parents, with the submission and implementation of specific policy proposals, with the establishment of structures and infrastructure, so that they can, without any particular problems, raise their families.”