EXPECTATION is riding high following the first meeting of the new Cabinet yesterday.
In his first address to his new Cabinet, President Demetris Christofias called upon his ministers, “to act in accordance with the commitments of the government and never to forget that a government is judged by how reliable and how successful it is.”
“The people have expectations of us and as the people’s elected President, I will have expectations from you.”
He emphasised that he expects hard work and that, “the programme of this government is the lighthouse and the compass which will guide us all.
“It should always be the yardstick by which you measure things.”
Christofias asserted that his, “ambition is to materialise the programme to the highest degree.
“I want this to become your ambition too,” he told his ministers.
He demanded that transparency and dialogue be hallmarks of state policy: ministries should keep their doors open to the public while Ministers should be in constant contact with the citizens.
“Human decency and social sensitivity should characterise state policy,” he added.
Meritocracy also featured in Christofias’ speech: “We should judge citizens based on their skills, attributes, achievements and willingness to contribute, and not what their ideological and political beliefs are.”
Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis, spoke on behalf of the new Cabinet.
He assured the President that, “we will focus on the two basic pillars of your philosophy: the effort to find a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem and to create a fairer society.”
“We all feel the heavy responsibility of governing the country.”
He promised that, “we will do our best to meet the high demands of our positions and worthy of your trust.”
Stavrakis is set to travel to Brussels on Sunday to partake in the meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN).
The only minister who was absent was the new Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou, who has only just resigned from his position as EU Health Commissioner.
Kyprianou will be confirmed in his post on Monday.
After the end of the confirmation ceremony, wreaths were laid at Makarios III’s statue and a souvenir photo was taken.
