THERE was more speculation yesterday over the government’s motives and rationale in its deal with Harvard University’s School of Public Health to establish a research institute in Cyprus.
According to the agreement, signed in Boston last week by President Papadopoulos, the government will fund the institute for the environment and public health, in association with the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), over a 10-year period at a total cost of £17 million; the institute is expected to become self-financing after that period.
In addition, the government is to finance construction of the premises, the cost of which is estimated to around £10 million extra.
But the considerable media coverage generated since the deal was announced has turned out to be a double-edged sword for the government. Now under scrutiny, many of the agreement’s aspects have been brought into question.
For one thing, the government has yet to release a copy of the agreement, inevitably feeding guesswork that something must be amiss if it is being kept secret. But there were other aspects that also raised an eyebrow: such as that the deal was allegedly brokered by Commerce Minister George Lillikas’ cousin, who happens to be a lecturer at HSPH.
Then the decision was slammed by private colleges in Cyprus; they argue that the government is merely interested in the prestige of doing business with Harvard, but in fact lacks a comprehensive strategy for encouraging research.
And yesterday Politis ran a story saying the Attorney-general’s office had urged the government to renegotiate several aspects of the deal, questioning its financial soundness, among other things. In early May, the Commerce Ministry was reportedly advised that the agreement was “imbalanced” for the government, suggesting the costs to benefits involved were unwarranted.
In a confidential letter addressed to the ministry, the AG’s office recommended a number of modifications to the agreement. It went on to advise that the deal be forwarded to the Accountant-general for reviewing, but this was never done, according to the paper.
Citing its sources, Politis added that, following these recommendations, certain last-minute changes to the deal were made, though a “lot more could have been done.”
For its part, the government has defended the move, saying it will serve to promote the island as a centre for scientific research. The advantages to be reaped are many, it claims, such as breathing new life into industry by encouraging growth of cutting-edge technologies. In addition, this will attract EU funds, and will help meet the EU requirement for government spending on research.
Cyprus currently spends 0.27 percent of GNP on research, one-tenth of the EU requirement of three per cent.
One thing that stands out is that, while professing its commitment to foster research on the island, the government has seemingly neglected local efforts, choosing to do business with foreign institutions. To illustrate the point, private research centres in Cyprus have for years been asking for official recognition from the government, but their requests have fallen on deaf ears.
For example, the Institute of Neurology and Genetics, based in Nicosia, is a privately-run non-profit organisation that depends on year-on-year negotiations with the government to secure grants. Not being a public organisation, it is not officially recognised as a research centre and therefore not guaranteed funds.
Marios Flouros, the institute’s financial and administrative director, told the Cyprus Mail that they received some £400,000 in research grants for this year; this was a significant improvement on previous years, he added. For example, back in 2002 the institute did not receive any government funding at all.
But this bids the question of why the government is now investing tens of millions of pounds in the Harvard project, which is also a private venture. Some in Cyprus are disgruntled that the government is turning its attention abroad.
Another point the government has been trying to sell hard is that the Harvard institute will make the island a hub of research activity for the Middle East and Africa. And in Boston last week, Lillikas rebuked the critics, saying Cypriots should feel ”honoured” that their country was chosen over other candidates.
Harvard University maintains a number of research projects in the region, including Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Greece.
While in the United States, Lillikas also revealed the government was considering other initiatives; the MIT has reportedly expressed interest in setting up a similar project in Cyprus. And the Development Bank has proposed a research centre with the participation of 25 Nobel prize-winning scientists; this ambitious project is estimated at £500 million.
