THE OPPOSITION yesterday attributed AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou with “political impudence” regarding his statements directed at Central Bank Governor Athanasios Orphanides.
DISY spokesman Haris Georgiades accused AKEL of double standards after Kyprianou called on Orphanides to acknowledge his mistake should his predictions for this year’s state finances prove to be wrong.
Orphanides warned parliament on Monday that government estimates of a 6.0 per cent deficit in 2010 – double the EU recommended ceiling – could prove to be overly optimistic, adding that the deficit may well reach seven per cent of GDP next year.
Kyprianou responded saying that the governor should be prepared to admit his error if the deficit finally is kept at six per cent and doesn’t reach seven per cent.
This behaviour verges on “political impudence”, said Georgiades, noting that it was AKEL that forecast 3.7 per cent growth when the country was falling into recession.
“They also forecast budget surpluses when the deficit was running out of control. The President himself said ‘we’ve got it good’ when unemployment was climbing to its highest levels since 1974. And never did they feel the need to recognise their mistakes,” he said.
He accused AKEL of propaganda regarding claims of slashing the number of civil servants, pointing to the Statistical Service reports which show that the number of public employees has risen by 2,000, not dropped, in the second half of 2010 when compared to the same period in 2009.
Georgiades spread his attack to the social security fund (SSF). Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis announced on Monday that the government would be depositing its second instalment of €200m into the fund, as part of its promise to do so every year for five years.
The aim is to create a billion euro reserve and chip away at the seven billion debt owed by the government to the fund.
However, the intention to invest large amounts of that €200m into government bonds drew a chorus of criticism from DISY and government partner DIKO, with opposition deputy Averof Neophytou accusing the government of “accounting tricks”.
Georgiades said the government was effectively giving money, taking pictures and then taking the money back as a loan. He argued that even the auditor general says the €200m contribution doesn’t count as it is reinvested in government bonds.
Labour Minister Sotiroula Charalambous yesterday rubbished reports claiming that pensioners would be left without a pension in ten years time. This was not going to happen, she said.
Charlambous called on everyone to wait for the new study on the SSF due at the end of the year and “not draw conclusions, be alarmist and spread panic”.
Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said yesterday there was no problem with the viability of the Fund for the next 40 years. People should rest assured that they will receive their pensions and that efforts are being made in cooperation with the social partners to solve any problems with the Fund, he said.
He highlighted that the Cypriot economy had been tested in the market and passed with a good score, since the government managed to raise one billion euros from the issuing of bonds.
Stefanou noted that the bonds were oversubscribed by many firms in Cyprus and abroad, which proved that “foreigners assess the prospects of our economy positively”, adding that around €43 million had been saved to the benefit of Cypriot citizens.
