Special body to be set up on rebuilding the north

COMMUNICATIONS and Works Minister Kikis Kazamias said yesterday that a ministerial committee would submit proposals to the cabinet within three months for the creation of a body responsible for rebuilding areas in the occupied north.

He said the cabinet’s decision to set up a such body sends the message that the government has the political will to contribute positively to the pursuit of a permanent and workable solution to the Cyprus problem.
“The government wants to be as prepared as possible,” Kazamias said, adding that the rebuilding plans would initially focus on areas that would come under Greek Cypriot control as set out in the Annan plan.

“Our concern is not limited to areas to be returned to the Greek Cypriot administration, but extends to the whole area of Cyprus,” he added.
The minister stressed the need for the body to have flexibility in its affairs and community participation to avoid disagreement.

The cabinet will decide the structure and finance of the new body after hearing proposals from the ministerial committee, which will co-operate with local authorities, semi-government organisations and other non-governmental organisations before submitting its proposals within three months.

An Advisory Board will be set up to deal with the issue of return to the occupied north and a co-ordinating team for infrastructure work has also been suggested, said the minister.

Kazamias said the body’s work would be divided into two parts: working on important pre-solution issues, like formulating town-planning policy, and post-solution issues such as infrastructure.

The studies will focus first on Famagusta and Morphou, followed by other areas.

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.