COALITION leaders AKEL went head-to-head with opposition DISY yesterday over Monday’s appointments to semi-governmental organisations, with AKEL maintaining that things were no different when DISY were in power.
Conflict between government and opposition over the newly appointed SGO board members dragged on yesterday, with DISY again accusing the government of excluding the party from the new boards and AKEL responding that DISY did not exactly have “a clean criminal record”.
AKEL has not yet confirmed whether or not there are DISY representatives on the new boards, however the party says it recognises the necessity of the opposition’s participation.
DISY vice chairman Averoff Neophytou yesterday dared the government to indicate at least one DISY member that had been appointed and maintained his party’s claim that DISY was unrepresented in all the new councils.
Responding to criticism over the methods used by DISY during its decade in presidency, Neophytou said that during his time as a minister (from 1999-2003), all parties were represented following consultations with their leaderships.
“On the instructions of the President of the Republic Glafcos Clerides, the ministers had the political responsibility to have deliberations with all the parties without exception; either coalition or opposition. There were no boards of directors where there wasn’t at least one presence of a member of AKEL”.
Providing specific examples, Neophytou reminded the party of AKEL deputy Stavros Evagorou’s presidency of Cyprus Airways and Pavlos Theodotou heading the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CyTA).
“There was no semi-government organisation where there was no representative [of another political party] – not only of AKEL, but also of DIKO and EDEK. And I will invoke the person with which consultations had taken place: the then AKEL parliamentary representative, Mr Andreas Christou. And because I have no reason to doubt the honour, neither of Mr (Andros) Kyprianou nor of Mr Christou neither of Mr (Demetris) Christofias, I am calling on Mr Christou to contradict me, if what I am saying does not respond to reality.”
The DISY deputy also referred to meetings he had had with the then president of DIKO and current President of the Republic Tassos Papadopoulos, before the election of new members during the DISY presidency and with EDEK president Yiannakis Omirou.
“And in all (SGOs) without exception, there were at least four members from the opposition. If they indeed believe that SGOs belong to the public, then why isn’t the one third of the public being represented [on the boards] now?”
Neophytou called on government spokesman Christodoulos Pashardis to indicate who the DISY members were that were being represented in the new boards. “Maybe Mr Pashardis, President Papadopoulos and today’s ministers know the members of DISY better than the party itself. May they point them out to us,” he said.
But AKEL spokesman Andros Kyprianou insisted that representatives from the opposition had been appointed in the new Boards, though he said he wasn’t in a position to say whether they were members of DISY.
He accused DISY of exercising criticism “without exactly having a clear criminal record”, adding that the right-wing leadership had behaved in a very different manner when it was in power.
“I would like to reminisce on two actions by DISY so we can see whether or not what it is saying has any basis.
“The first political action by DISY when it came into power in 1993, was to replace the Boards of Director of SGOs with people who came from DISY and the coalition – unconstitutionally – with the well-known result of some people applying to the Supreme Court, winning the case and DISY being made to reappoint the board members to their initial positions.
“Then, when it could have replaced the BoD’s, there weren’t AKEL representatives in all the BoDs. Sure, there were sporadically some here and there. As I am sure there are some of DISY today”.
Kyprianou admitted that he didn’t know whether there were DISY members among the new board members. “I am not a member of the Cabinet. We will study the catalogue of the members and if there is a need to make a statement then we will.”
The AKEL spokesman concluded, “I would like to say that SGO’s are an expansion of the state mechanism and under normal circumstances they should adjust and promote the politics of the government. Members of the BoDs are needed that will embrace the same ideological approaches of the parties that make up the government. There is also the need of control from the opposition”.
Where are the women?
THE GREEN Party yesterday issued an announcement belittling the row that has developed between the major political parties over the new SGO appointments and drew attention to the notable absence of women in the new Boards of Directors.
“The blatantly obvious weakness of this administration, which now constitutes a bad tradition, to take advantage of its rich female dynamic, is in essence an element of political immaturity and anachronism”, read the announcement, reminding the government of its equal opportunity advertising campaign in the build up to May’s parliamentary elections .
The Greens added that the problem shouldn’t be over how many and which parties are “represented” in the semi-government boards and argued that DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades was “essentially seeking the expansion of party-dominance”.
New members warned to declare their fixed assets
THE THREE-MEMBER Council for the declaration and control of fixed assets for dignitaries of the Cyprus Republic yesterday called on the newly appointed board members of SGOs to declare their assets within the next three months, reminding them that by failing to do so, they stand to receive an up to 3,000 fine.
With the Cabinet’s appointment of new Legal Persons for Public Justice in the Boards, the Council officially announced that it would like to inform all newly appointed dignitaries on their obligation to declare their and their children’s assets, in Cyprus and abroad, within three months of taking on their duties.
They were also told they should submit the same declaration every three years for as long as they maintain their positions, as well as three months after departing from their posts.
In the event that a dignitary omits to submit a Fixed Assets Declaration, the Council will impose the £3,000 fine and an additional £50 for each day they fail to do so after that.
The new members have also been warned that in the event of submitting false details, it will be considered a criminal offence and offenders stand to spend up to a year in prison, to be fined £3,000 or both.
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