JUSTICE MINISTER Loucas Louca is to recommend this month that the cabinet reduce and in some cases terminate state-provided security for politicians across the spectrum.
The police prepared a report last year, revising the security detail afforded politicians and state officials, proposing a reduction for some and a termination for others.
The change of leadership in parliament has provided Louca with an opportunity to submit before cabinet the comprehensive police review of the security detail.
Louca told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that he was waiting for a supplementary proposal by the police security committee on the level of protection proposed for newly elected House President Yiannakis Omirou and his predecessor, DIKO leader Marios Garoyian.
Louca will take the supplementary proposal and last year’s police review to cabinet for approval within the month.
A police source revealed that one person whose security detail is up for the chop is that of former minister and ADIK leader Dinos Michaelides. ADIK has now merged with centre right party DIKO meaning Michaelides is no longer a party leader, and therefore, under the terms defined by cabinet, no longer in need of security.
Asked why the leader of a small party which did not even have a seat in the last parliament needed security in the first place, the source said these were the guidelines set by cabinet.
In the meantime, police have doubled to six the number of police previously assigned to Omirou to take into account his new position. This figure is still less than half that of his predecessor.
According to police sources, as house president Garoyian had at least 14 police members in his security detail. Now that he has lost the top seat in parliament, police will gradually reduce that figure to a more appropriate one, related to his post as DIKO party leader.
Under a cabinet decision, all party leaders are entitled to state-provided security, though not all take that option. When Greens deputy Georgios Perdikis was leader of the party, he waived that right, a decision adopted by his successor Ioanna Panayiotou.
EVROKO leader Demetris Syllouris also does not have security though his vice-president Nicos Koutsou does, a remnant from the old days when Koutsou was head of the now dissolved New Horizons party.
According to yesterday’s Alithia, Omirou is keen not to inherit the 14-figure security detail of his predecessor. The paper cites sources from his close circle saying that the new house speaker also wants to reduce the number of staff working for the office of the house president.
Parliament’s Secretary General Socrates Socratous said yesterday that Garoyian had eight contractual staff working for him during his three-year term in office. Their contracts expire when Garoyian leaves office.
Socratous explained that every house president is given a budget for contractual staff and can hire according to their needs, as long as it’s within the allocated budget. Garoyian employed a director of his office, a director of the press office and six administrative staff.
Asked how many contractual employees the former house president Demetris Christofias used before Garoyian, Socratous said he couldn’t remember.
According to Alithia, Omirou wants to reduce this figure to four or five
