By Bejay Browne
AS POLICE probe the affairs of the Paphos sewerage board (SAPA), the latest in a string of scandals to affect the coastal town, the mayor of Peyia said the council showed prudence to request an exit from the scheme.
“When everything becomes clearer, we hope to proceed with a sewerage system for the tourist area of Peyia. We haven’t stopped our plans to achieve this,” said mayor Neofitos Akoursiotis.
The main tourist area which includes Coral Bay sees thousands of people visiting every day and the EU directive targets the protection of such areas.
But any delays beyond the revised deadline of 2016 could leave Peyia liable to huge EU fines.
The head of SAPA, Eftychios Malikkides, was recently suspended for two months at the request of Interior minister Sokratis Hasikos, pending an investigation into the board’s affairs that followed claims of irregularities in construction contracts, which ended up costing tens of millions of euros more than planned.
Beleaguered Paphos mayor Savvas Vergas – who has aside until November 10 – is also ex-officio chairman of the sewerage board.
Vergas is currently facing allegations of sending threatening text messages to witnesses in a suspicious land zoning case involving a prominent developer, as well as his alleged involvement in a charity concert, where funds were not paid to a food bank as agreed.
Two months ago, Peyia council informed SAPA, by majority vote, that it will exit the sewerage scheme after a request for an extension on outstanding bills until 2018 was denied.
Peyia councilor Linda Leblanc voted against the move saying there would be major repercussions in the future.
“The exit move has to be approved by the council of ministers and then by Brussels as it’s against EU directives,” she said.
Leblanc added that the process is shambolic as residents still have to pay outstanding sewerage taxes in order to obtain their title deeds.
“People are complaining that they have to pay sewerage tax for last year and this year, otherwise they can’t get their title deeds.”
Leblanc said that although people want their money back, legally SAPA is allowed to continue collecting taxes until a decision is approved.
“It’s a mess. No one got the latest bills and if SAPA sent them out now there would be uproar. The way things stand, outstanding bills should be paid by the end of the month, with all of the scandals in Paphos, it’s a total fiasco.”
The councilor added: “Two months after the decision to quit the scheme, the mayor of Peyia is saying we need phase one in the tourist area. But this now comes with a raft of problems; how we will have to pay for such a large project on our own.”
She said that Coral Bay is already suffering environmental damage due to poor water management, which will only deteriorate further if nothing is done.
Mayor Akoursiotis said he believes that phase one of the project could commence in four or five years with the help of a loan from Europe.
“We are waiting to see what happens with the current situation and with a loan we would be able to pay back the amount slowly.”
According to the mayor, installing a sewerage system in Peyia from the village square upwards would be difficult and dangerous as the ground is rocky and roads are winding and steep.
But Linda Leblanc said the only reason the majority of the council voted to exit the scheme in the first place was down to vested interests.
“Many of the councilors come from large families which own great swathes of prime land in Peyia. They aren’t thinking about the common good or the future. They would be liable for large bills.”
However, both officials agree that a sewerage system needs to be installed in the tourist area which often suffers from unpleasant smells.
“All said, when Vergas was the SAPA director, he and members of the board came to Peyia and informed us that bigger pipes would be required to be laid in the Tomb of the Kings area if Peyia was to be included in the scheme. He warned that it would cost millions and waste money to dig up the road again and relay the pipes later on,” Leblanc said.
She added that she is aware of places in Peyia where developers have cut corners to save on costs and there are no septic tanks in place, waste just goes into a big hole in the ground.
