THE HEALTH Ministry yesterday hit back at claims that it was responsible for the delays in commissioning tests on emissions at the Nemitsas foundry outside Limassol.
The Ministry said it had nothing to hide, and that it could accept criticism from anyone who cared to make it because it had nothing to fear from it.
According to a report by Ombudswoman Eliana Nicolaou, leaked by the Greens on Wednesday, the “relevant government services” committed “inexcusable omissions and delays in taking and implementing decisions”.
She said that ambiguous environmental and public health law had contributed to the “faulty and inefficient” handling of the problem.
The Green Party released the February 14 report at a news conference, accusing the government of misleading the House and the public about the Nemitsas danger for 15 years.
Local residents have continuously complained of the lack of official response to their complaints that the foundry caused respiratory and learning difficulties in their children.
But the Health Ministry yesterday declared its innocence and pointed the finger at the Labour Ministry.
Senior health official Andreas Georgiou said there had been no delay in carrying out the medical tests.
He said the process of asking for tenders was started immediately after the Cabinet decision was taken last April.
Three London experts began their preliminary examinations of the area on Monday. Their application of tender, the only one put forward in the open competition, took four months to be approved. Results will not be published until August.
“The Health Ministry has absolutely no responsibility for the delay. On the contrary, we ran the risk of criticism by putting our necks on the line, by speeding up the process. There was no delay and there are documents testifying to this,” said Georgiou.
On the other hand, he went on to say: “the Health Ministry does not have any jurisdiction in this matter. The jurisdiction belongs to others. We have [only] taken on the medical aspect.”
The 10-man team will carry out medical, environmental and industrial tests to determine whether there is a link between foundry emissions and ill health.
The Labour Ministry has told the Cyprus Mail that it has nothing to do with the health tests on Omonia and Zakaki citizens.
The Labour Ministry is merely responsible for ensuring that emissions from the foundry do not exceed the statutory limit.
Health Minister Frixos Savvides has promised to close Nemitsas if the tests prove that the foundry damages human health. Similar tests led to the closure of the Ergates foundry outside Nicosia last year.
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.
