By George Psyllides
THE government said yesterday that attempts to ridicule the publication of ministers’ assets were “bad and negative”, suggesting the gesture should have been appreciated as it was the first time in the history of Cyprus that ministers’ finances were made public.
On Saturday, President Tassos Papadopoulos and his cabinet, as well as the government spokesman and the undersecretary to the president, published their finances, fulfilling a pledge made by Papadopoulos on assuming office.
But the move, though groundbreaking, has drawn considerable criticism from those who believe ministers should have declared their wives’ finances too.
The declarations also faced criticism for only stating the cost of the land and not its actual value.
Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said yesterday the move should have been appreciated, as it was the first time that ministers’ finances had been made public.
Asked whether there were second thoughts on the publication of the spouses’ finances as well as the issue of current market values of land, Chrysostomides said: “If at this point there are gaps, they will be filled in.”
Chrysostomides said the price stated was usually the cost price of the property, adding that the issue was not the minister’s property value but what property they currently owned and what they would own when they left office.
“I think it is a pioneering initiative, which should be made complete with the necessary legislation issued or voted by the House in order to have rules and directions concerning the publication of the finances of state officials,” Chrysostomides said.
And he added that attempts to debase the importance of this action were bad and negative and that everyone had acted in good faith and given the information asked from them.
The spokesman reminded that the bill making the declaration of assets compulsory had not been passed by the House, due to constitutional obstacles and the protection of individuals’ private life.
Opposition DISY deputy Prodromos Prodromou said the publication of only the ministers’ personal finances was a mockery.
He charged that the government was trying to create false impressions and wondered why there was no information published concerning family enterprises, spouses’ property and foreign accounts.
Prodromou warned that the opposition would be forced to make revelations if ministers were not forthcoming about their spouses’ finances.
Trade and Industry Minister George Lillikas, who was a prime target, said that he would table the issue in the next Cabinet meeting.
Speaking yesterday, Lillikas said his wife owned 70 per cent of the Marketway group of companies, which was valued at around £4.8 million and had a turnover of several million pounds a year.
He also disclosed that his wife owned a couple of acres of land outside Nicosia and a House in Yeri.
Lillikas dismissed the criticism as gossip aimed at damaging the government’s credibility.
Interior Minister Andreas Christou said he had already submitted his wife’s finances and it was up to the Cabinet’s secretariat to publish them after instructions from the President.
Communications Minister Kikis Kazamias said his wife owned a plot of land in Limassol worth £35,000 and one-fifth of other land estimated at £100,000.
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.
