OPPOSITION DISY yesterday slammed the government’s economic policies as being “below par”, as more bad news emerged about an impending further downgrading of the economy by international rating agencies.
Speaking at a news conference in Paphos, party leader Nikos Anastasiades said the present administration has failed to deal with the effects of the global financial crisis.
“The naked truth is that the government’s economic policy is far below the circumstances…it is a policy which has failed and which leads to repeated dead ends,” Anastasiades said.
He was alluding to President Christofias’ comments on Friday when the latter blamed an “alliance” bent on harming the government for a downgrade of the country’s debt rating by Standard and Poor’s, saying his administration could assume no blame for the cut.
“It is not enough that the state disclaims its role to boost the economy which – as in the case of the Paphos to Polis road – could have been undertaken by the private sector, but it also ties up the hands of private initiative,” Anastasiades noted.
The DISY boss said the Paphos district was experiencing one of its worst tourist years on record, noting that for the first time more than half of hotels remained shut during the winter season due to the crisis, while there has been a significant reduction in traffic at the city’s international airport due to Eurocypria’s bankruptcy and the scrapping of some Cyprus Airways flights.
Anastasiades said only a growth-oriented policy, based on the model of the social market economy, could reverse the current negative trend. This growth should be based on private initiative “which creates wealth, and not on the state acting as an entrepreneur, which amasses debts and deficits.”
DISY’s main proposals to prop up the economy include slashing red tape, introducing e-governance and establishing of business service centres.
He also called for a new energy policy that would tap into the country’s natural resources, adding that if natural gas reserves are discovered off the island’s coast, Cyprus had the opportunity to become a fuel exporter.
Meanwhile at a session at the House Finance Committee yesterday to discuss a bill for a bank stability fund – as suggested by the Central Bank – DISY MP Maria Kyriacou said the Finance Minister informed deputies of a further downgrading of the Cypriot economy.
“The minister said he expects this [downgrade] soon,” Kyriacou said, without elaborating.
Kyriacou criticised the government for not preparing a new package of measures to boost the economy, such as reducing state expenditures.
The state payroll represents about 30 per cent of annual spending. It has been a year since President Christofias said he would be meeting the leadership of the civil servants union PASYDY to discuss wide ranging cutbacks.
Since the government late last year imposed a raft of new taxes to bring in extra millions, there has been little or no mention about further public sector cuts or meetings with PASYDY to discuss them.
When asked about the “dialogue” with PASYDY, Christofias last week claimed that talks had already begun with the powerful trade union.
The same contention was made by AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou, who said Christofias had already met twice with the civil servants, but added that the meetings had taken place “away from the public eye”.
But according to PASYDY boss Glafcos Hadjipetrou, no meetings have taken place between the union and the President for at least the last nine months.
