Minister defends state petrol bill

By Constantinos Psillides

FINANCE Minister Harris Georgiades avoided directly addressing the issue of state officials enjoying state-provided limos on Monday, preferring to point out that the government will eventually limit their number.

The finance minister was responding to a story run by daily Politis, saying that petrol for the limos cost the taxpayer €23 million. When confronted with the story on CyBC radio, Georgiades clarified that “only 12 million euros were spent in petrol” while the rest had to do with maintenance in general and petrol for National Guard vehicles.

“This government, following suggestions by the parliament, has reduced the number of state officials entitled to a limo to 20. When the new legislation to limit luxury cars for state officials is put into effect, some will lose this privilege immediately, some will lose it in 2016 and others when their contract is expired,” he said.

Recently the Cabinet approved a list of officials entitled to a limo or luxury car and forwarded it to parliament for further debate.

The list includes the president of the Republic, the president of the House, the president of the Supreme Court, the attorney general and assistant attorney general, the auditor general, former presidents, the ministers, the government spokesman, the undersecretary to the president, as well as the first lady.

The cabinet also included on the list – citing security reasons – the chief of police, the commander of the National Guard, as well as the head of the intelligence service (KYP).

The Cabinet added an extra provision, saying that the use of a state car is allowed only for state business and that transportation to and from the official’s residence isn’t considered ‘state business’.

While limiting the privilege should have been met with approval, it led to more outrage, since the ban wouldn’t have an immediate effect, allowing 101 state officials to keep their luxury car, including mayors.

MPs are already reacting to the government proposal, since their original suggestion to the Cabinet called for only 11 officials being granted a state-limo.
Discussion on the subject will continue at the House finance committee.

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.