Government ‘living in the past’ over the economy

THE ROW between the government and opposition over the state of the economy continued yesterday with former minister Averoff Neophytou accusing the current administration of living in the past.

Neophytou, Vice Chairman of right-wing DISY, said that the previous administration of Glafcos Clerides had taken a small economy with political problems on the road to Europe and that the current centre-left government “deals only in the past”.

Both government and opposition blame each other for the current state of the economy, which has seen the fiscal deficit soar to more than five per cent, two per cent higher than the Maastricht criteria for convergence with European Union norms.

Finance Minister Marcos Kyprianou told ministers on Thursday that they would have to tighten their belts and suggested that some development projects be put on ice, a move that drew heavy criticism from the opposition which said that curbing development was not the answer. Kyprianou also suggested increasing fees and charges for some government services.

“This is a government without vision, and it is trying to confine the economy to the dogma of yesteryear,” Neophytou said yesterday. “They prefer to put their hands into the pockets of the Cypriot citizen and Cypriot enterprise.”
Hitting back at Neophytou, Kyprianou said that the issue of the economy was
particularly serious and that it should not be discussed through the press.
He said DISY should wait for the official briefing from the Finance Ministry before being critical of the policies of the government, and that it was important for all sides to work together to solve problems of the economy.
“We have every intention to take into serious consideration the proposals of opposition,” he said. “However this should be done through constructive dialogue.”