SORE-eyed, disheveled and cranky, MPs yesterday approved the 2009 budget after a marathon session of the plenum that dragged long into the night.
The government’s financial blueprint passed by a majority of 33 votes and 20 against; there were three no-shows and zero abstentions. The ‘ayes’ came from ruling AKEL, DIKO, EDEK and the Greens, the ‘nays’ from DISY and the European Party.
This is the first budget since Cyprus entered the Eurozone and adopted the currency in January.
The 2009 financial plan provides for €7.37 billion in expenditure, increased by 11 per cent compared to 2008 with revenues worth of €6.3 billion, increased only by 1.6 per cent.
Official data say the economy will present a borderline fiscal surplus and a public debt reduced below 48 per cent of GDP.
It is also the first budget under the communist-led government that came to power, and AKEL deputies were especially proud of the fact there would be an increase of 26 percent on welfare benefits.
The session concluded at around 9.30pm. Parliament then adjourned for the Christmas holidays; the body reconvenes on 14 January.
As has become the norm, the actual nuts and bolts of the budget made only a cameo appearance, with discussion dominated by current events, not least by the fallout from the escape of convicted murderer and rapist Antonis Prokopiou Kitas, better known as ‘Al Capone’.
DISY deputy Ionas Nicolaou seized the occasion to declare that the correctional system was a shambles. Prisons had become “schools of corruption and criminality,” he said, adding that much of organized crime on the island was actually being run from behind cell doors.
The Cyprus problem featured prominently in the debate, with DIKO’s Nicholas Papadopoulos accusing the Christofias government of making vital concessions in the ongoing reunification talks.
“Sadly, the agreement of May 23 has backfired and has opened wide the doors for a type of settlement based on a loose confederation to the delight of Turkish diplomacy,” he said.
Responding on behalf of the government, AKEL deputy Aristophanes Georgiou stopped short of saying outright that DIKO is against the talks process and seeking to sabotage it.
“Since its inception, the Republic of Cyprus has been a bi-communal state…but it seems some people are hastening to proclaim failure, whereas we are in a hurry to welcome success,” he remarked.
Meanwhile DISY MP Soteris Sampson reiterated allegations that the land housing an army camp in Nicosia was being earmarked for sale to foreign investors, who planned to build a massive complex of luxury hotels.
The customary post-vote party, featuring snacks, beverages and stand-up comedy was cancelled this year as a mark of respect for the passing of former President Tassos Papadopoulos.
