THE HOUSE of Representatives will no longer have the power to block decisions on military supply if a bill proposed by DIKO is approved.
DIKO deputy Nicos Moushiouttas yesterday submitted a proposal to the House Defence Committee on behalf of his party. If the bill is passed, the government will no longer need to submit individual procurement budgets to Parliament for approval.
Deputies are not expected to vote on the bill until after May’s legislative elections.
Moushiouttas’ move comes after the government was forced to scrap plans to buy four Bell helicopters for the National Guard after it failed to muster a majority to approve the required budget. The debate about the Bells revolved around their military suitability, an issue seen by many as best left to the National Guard.
Addressing his colleagues in Committee yesterday, Moushiouttas cited the incident to stress “the need for the government to make decisions based on its experts’ views”.
“Deputies are not military specialists so they shouldn’t be authorised to destroy the government’s work like they have.”
Moushiouttas was the only DIKO deputy to vote with the government in favour of the Bells.
Yesterday, he suggested that the House should limit its powers to making sure that the government followed the right procedures to purchase military equipment.
The Committee decided not to discuss the matter until after the elections in order to avoid voting at a time when campaigning would dominate the political arena.
Governing DISY has already come out in favour of Moushiouttas’ proposal, while the main opposition party AKEL is expected to oppose it.
Defence Minister Socratis Hasikos yesterday expressed his concern that parliament’s attitude was delaying important supply decisions for the National Guard.
The minister yesterday had to withdraw a proposal he had submitted to the House for the purchase of special night-vision equipment.
The purchase has been questioned by the State Watchdog Services and by the Committee, which have both asked for more information and time to examine procedural matters.
Hasikos said: “We cannot afford to loose another battle so we decided to withdraw the proposal for now. We will bring the matter up again when the House and the Watchdog Services are ready.
“But I am worried about the way the House acts, sabotaging the National Guard’s plans, and this is very serious. Both the government and the parties must think of ways to overcome this problem. If a war breaks out and the Army is not capable of protecting the country, everyone is going to blame the government, not the House for voting down this or that proposal,” the minister said.
But Committee chairman Takis Hadjidemetriou of KISOS pledged that the National Guard would be perfectly capable of facing any crisis, “partly thanks to this Committee’s action.”
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