Time for Turkey to turn words into deeds

2010-09-22

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias yesterday reiterated that Turkey is not ready to solve the Cyprus problem and accused the neighbouring country and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu of engaging in a blame game.

Speaking after a 20-minute meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon in New York, Christofias said Turkey, through Eroglu, was playing a communications game in a bid to pass on the blame.

“I spoke very honestly, voicing our view regarding Turkey’s stance, the communications game played by Turkey and Mr. Eroglu, and the effort to transform this game into a blame game, something we consider unacceptable and which proves that Turkey is not ready to solve the Cyprus problem at the moment,” Christofias said.

Mob rule does not reflect the ‘wisdom of the crowd’, only partisan bullying

2010-09-22

FOOTBALL club boards have never been renowned for responsible and sensible behaviour. This is why a club board rarely condemns violence when its supporters are involved, this is why it issues official announcements blaming match officials when its team loses and this is why it usually blames the police when there is crowd trouble at its stadium. Boards are incapable of seeing beyond the narrowly defined interests of their club, even if this means undermining the sport’s standing and showing contempt for the law.

More explosives recovered from July theft

2010-09-22

POLICE yesterday recovered another batch of plastic explosives stolen from an army depot in Limassol during the summer.

Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said 69 sticks of the PG2 explosive were found at an open area south of the village of Ayia Marinouda in the Paphos district.

“So far 187 out of 200 sticks stolen have been recovered with the police search continuing for the location of the remaining 13 sticks,” Katsounotos said.

The 69 sticks were wrapped in a plastic bag and covered with stones.

Four people are currently in custody in connection with the July theft from the depot in Palodhia, north of Limassol.

State payroll needs tackling if Cyprus to avoid losing ratings says KEVE head

2010-09-22

THERE ARE no sacred cows when it comes to saving the economy, said the head of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KEVE) yesterday, who called on the government to put a cap on the state payroll.

Speaking after a meeting with Central Bank Governor Athanasios Orphanides, KEVE head Manthos Mavromatis said measures had to be taken to tackle the state payroll and state pensions if Cyprus was to convince international rating agencies that “the public deficit and public finances are under control”.

Mavromatis said the two men spoke about the deterioration of public finances and the impact on the economy. “KEVE is not dogmatic, it looks at the issue as a whole and the executive power is obliged to bring a package of measures which includes all,” he said.

Football rights row carries on

2010-09-22

AEL and LTV continued their war of words yesterday regarding a broadcasting agreement that the Limassol club wants to terminate.

Speaking to Sigma TV, executive director of LTV Akis Avraamides claimed that the board of AEL was directly responsible for Monday’s demonstration and went on to say that the situation that occurred was unacceptable and that lives could have been lost.

On Monday night AEL fans blockaded the Tsirion stadium in Limassol to prevent an LTV crew from filming the match. After the crew got inside talks between the two sides failed to reach an agreement and the camera crew left.

House committee launches its own investigation into Church tax debts

2010-09-22

THE HOUSE Watchdog Committee will carry out an investigation into the dispute over the Church’s tax arrears after it transpired last week that the figures given by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) were wrong.

The official data of the IRD indicated that the Church owes €169 million – €138 million in immovable property tax and €30 million in capital gains tax, including interest.

Last week however, the government conceded there was a mistake in the calculation of what the Church owed to the state.

The finance ministry has already launched an investigation headed by the ministry’s permanent secretary.

MPs threaten to cancel road tax if government doesn’t change system

2010-09-22

 

MPS YESTERDAY urged the government to table a bill to scrap road tax otherwise a proposal by all parties except AKEL would be submitted to the plenum for approval.

The proposal was discussed at yesterday’s House Communications Committee, where MPs expressed their willingness to discuss any proposals by the government on ways to counterbalance the measure.

“If they don’t bring suggestions, we will submit the proposal to the Plenum as it is and everyone can take on their responsibilities,” said Committee Chairman, DIKO’s Zacharias Koulias.

Uproar in House as water bills set to rise

2010-09-22

 

LIMASSOL’S Water Board will raise the district’s water charges as of January 1, 2011, increasing average bills for households by up to as much as 30 per cent.

The rest of the island’s water boards are expected to follow suit.

The matter was raised at yesterday’s House Commerce Committee, which discussed the increased charges imposed by state services, as well as municipalities and community councils.

MPs said the new water charges would be a further blow to suffering consumers, who are already bulking under the pressure of the economic crisis.

Sick leave costing EAC €5 million

2010-09-22

SICK LEAVE taken by workers at the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) cost the semi-government organisation over €5 million in 2009, the Auditor-general’s EAC report has shown.

Furthermore, an audit into the matter showed that there were actually sick notes signed by paediatricians.

Auditor-general Chrystalla Yiorkadji’s report was discussed at yesterday’s House Watchdog Committee, where MPs found that the EAC may be making good progress in tidying up its finances and internal affairs – the SGO has already noted a €5 million (or eight per cent) decrease of its annual budget – but there are still a number of issues that need to be resolved.

One such issue is the large sums offered to EAC staff in the form of scholarships for their children.

If there’s gold in them there hills, we need our cut

2010-09-22

THE GOVERNMENT has reportedly signed a deal with a Canadian company to search for gold on the island and possibly export it, without there being a legal framework for the Republic to have much of a say in the matter.

It has been rumoured that the aim is to impose the corporate tax law, whereby the company will be charged just 10 per cent on its profits as well as royalties.

The matter, which was brought to light by Sigma TV, raised great concern among MPs at the House Commerce Committee yesterday, considering the fact that it involves part of Cyprus’ national wealth.

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.