University says now is time to act on economy

THE University of Cyprus yesterday sounded the alarm over the state of public finances saying it is time for decisive measures to prevent the economy from getting trapped in a dead end.

The institution’s staff said they were prepared to accept the measures taken by the government to cut the state payroll and resolve the state pensions problem and urged all social partners to work together in finding solutions.

In a written statement, the University said “the critical time has come to immediately put in place decisive measures to prevent the Cypriot economy from being trapped in dead ends” as developments in Greece showed.

The common good should be the highest priority and “we urge all involved to contribute responsibly and constructively so as to adopt decisions that will prevent worse consequences and set the foundations for a new era of growth and prosperity in Cyprus and its people,” the University said.

The intervention, which came after a Senate meeting on Monday, said the university’s academic staff said it was concerned of the ongoing international crisis and its intensifying effects on the Cypriot economy, “which have highlighted the serious underlying dangers from the structural weaknesses, especially of the state sector.”

The staff voiced worry over the increasing public debt and its cost of servicing, which compromise growth prospects and transfer disproportionately heavy burdens on the next generations.

The University also expressed concern over the increasing deficit in the pension and social insurance funds, which cast doubts on their long-term viability, and rising unemployment and its effects on the new generation and social cohesion.

They said they were prepared to accept the government measures to resolve the economy’s structural problems and “recognise that under the current circumstances the necessary solutions call for sacrifices from everyone to avoid worse consequences and secure social cohesion.”

There is an “overbearing need for all social partners to constructively cooperate in drafting and implementing effective decisions aiming at putting the Cypriot economy back on the track of viable development,” the statement said.

The University said it was ready to assist the state’s efforts in drafting the most effective and least painful measures possible.

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.