THE HEAD of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) yesterday denied allegations that they were avoiding discussing development plans for the Dasoudi forest in Yermasoyia.
“We are not hiding and we are not doing anything in secret. People should not worry,” CTO head Alecos Orountiotis told the Mail.
He was asked to respond to accusations, among others from the Green Party which accused the CTO of ‘hiding like an escapee’ after it failed to show up for a scheduled House discussion on the Dasoudi forest in Yermasoyia.
The House Watchdog committee was set to discuss the CTO’s plans to develop Dasoudi forest on Tuesday. However the discussion was postponed when no CTO representative showed up.
“All independent bodies have clearly recorded the illegal actions of the CTO’s executive board: legal and auditing services, the internal audit service and the ombudswoman,” an announcement from the Greens said.
They were referring to the CTO’s efforts to get planning permission to develop the area and build a two-storey underground car park, a big multi-function space and several new restaurants.
However, no study was done to assess the environmental impact and the CTO had made no effort to inform the public and invite them to a public dialogue, as they should have by law.
The CTO’s plans were however made public to uproar from people who protested and formed groups to protect the forest.
In late June, Orountiotis admitted they had “handled the issue wrongly” and spoke only of “gentle development.”
Since then planning permission was revoked and two applications were frozen, however CTO’s plans over Dasoudi remain unclear.
“We are still considering what we should do with the area but we will definitely act only according to the law,” Orountiotis said.
In the run-up to the scheduled House discussion, a number of groups – still worried over Dasoudi forest – said they would be at the House asking for clear answers and transparency over development plans.
“I wanted to show up very much,” Orountiotis told the Mail saying that the meeting clashed with that of the Kenyan Vice President with a series of delays ultimately preventing him from showing up.
He said there are a number of issues that should be raised and the CTO was happy to discuss them at a future House meeting.
