Funds secured to hire professional soldiers

THE government has secured the required funds to ensure that 3,000 professional soldiers will be hired for the National Guard by this autumn, the House defence committee said on Monday.
Hiring 3,000 soldiers on contract followed the surprise announcement in February of an historic cabinet decision to reduce mandatory army service for every adult Cypriot male to 14 months from the current two years by 2017. Conscripts who joined in the summer of 2015 will serve 18 months, while all service after that will be 14 months.
This will be made possible by recruiting 3,000 professional soldiers at an annual cost of €33mn.
DISY MP Andreas Michaelides said that the committee was informed by Finance Minister Harris Georgiades, through a letter, that the funds to hire the soldiers was secured through savings from the 2016 state budget. For 2017, the funds will be included in the annual state budget.
“The announcement to hire the 3,000 soldiers will be made in May, and hiring will take place around September or October,” Michaelides said.
Committee member Soteris Sampson said that the reduction of the army service does not affect the effectiveness of the National Guard, but that it is part of its “modernisation and reorganisation”.

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