Time for Christodoulou to spend more time with his family?

INTERIOR Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou said yesterday he might resign, saying he ought to spend more time with his family.

Without giving any specific reason why he might step down, the minister told journalists attending a news conference on his department’s achievements that he did not know whether he would be able to keep up with the pressure of such a demanding job.

"Once someone has made a big contribution, he should give others the chance to take over," the interior minister said.

Christodoulou – a former finance minister – also quashed speculation that he might consider standing at the next presidential elections.

The resignation comments sparked a run of questions from reporters, but the Disy minister would not reveal when and whether he would actually step down.

Turning to the subject of his news conference – his department’s achievements over the past 12 months – Christodoulou went on to say the main objectives of his ministry had been the decentralisation and speeding up of services offered to the public.

He highlighted the upgrading of civil defence achieved over the past three months, saying almost everyone now knew where to go in case of crisis. He added that 800 shelters were now ready and the remaining 3,000 would be online by the end of the year.

The minister also spoke of his plans to reform the battered immigration department, rocked last year by the arrest of its director on suspicion of involvement in a permits scam. He said the ministry would concentrate on overhauling the organisation of the service.

Running down his department’s priorities, Christodoulou also spoke about plans to speed up bureaucratic procedures concerning ownership, town planning and building.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.