ACCUSING DISY’s second-in-command of launching a Spanish inquisition in parliament, the foreign minister almost walked out of a discussion on her ministry’s budget for diplomatic missions yesterday.
Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis attended a discussion in the House foreign affairs committee where she was presented with a stern written letter on expenditure signed by all members except ruling party AKEL.
The letter said that the government should wait for the House to pass the 2013 budget before taking any diplomatic transfer decisions. Deputies also asked to be informed on the expenses incurred from diplomats’ transfers.
The committee’s head, DISY’s number two Averof Neophytou, said that he would not vote for any budget that would entail increased expenses for embassies or high commissions.
His persistent questioning irked Marcoullis who said, “If you’re going to have a Spanish inquisition, I will depart.”
“This is the parliament, the home of democracy, and no one who is invited here can set their own terms,” Neophytou said.
AKEL’s George Loucaides jumped in to defend Marcoullis, referring to Neophytou’s “ironic tone” and asking him to “tone it down”.
Marcoullis told the House that embassies in Portugal, Mexico and Slovakia had been downgraded to provide estimated annual savings of €600,000, and added that those embassies will not have ambassadors but permanent representatives.
But she said that transfers were necessary to ensure the diplomatic service functioned well, especially following the completion of the Cyprus presidency of the council of the EU at the end of the year. She was referring to Cyprus’ need to have an increased presence in Brussels vis-à-vis the presidency.
Marcoullis dismissed allegations that her government was trying to benefit from being in administration, pointing out that the current system applying for diplomatic missions has been effective as of 1997. During that time, Neophytou’s party DISY was in power.

ANIMAL rights’ supporters welcomed yesterday a landmark case which saw a Nicosia man jailed for neglecting his animals and for animal cruelty. 
The Nicosia district court on Thursday sentenced the 45-year-old resident of Engomi, Nicosia to one month in prison for failing to safeguard the health and welfare of the animals and owning dogs which were not registered or marked with a chip.
In December 2010 a neighbour contacted the Nicosia Dog Shelter expressing concern over the man’s treatment of his three pitbulls. When the dog shelter volunteers arrived at the scene they saw three pitbulls in a state of malnourishment, dehydration, with swollen eyes, broken teeth and full of infections and abuse marks on their bodies. The cages they were kept in were made of sharp material and were full of mouldy rubbish and dog excrement.
The three dogs were removed and taken to the dog shelter. One of the dogs had to be put down, as his condition was so severe. The other two died as a result of their deteriorated health within a year after they were taken to the shelter.
Nearly two years later, the Nicosia district court sentenced the 45-year-old to one month imprisonment.
“The fact that this man was sentenced to prison is certainly an encouraging development. However, we feel that sentences in such cases should be stricter in order for them to act as more of a deterrent,” president of the Voice of the Animals organisation, Mary Anastasi, told the Cyprus Mail. “How can we be sure this man won’t do it again?”
The only other similar case took place in 2006, when three soldiers were sentenced to three months in jail by the military tribunal for burning a dog alive.
The penalty for animal abuse of this kind in Cyprus is a maximum one year prison sentence, a 700 euro fine, or both. In this case, the 45-year-old was sentenced to the minimum penalty of imprisonment.
“Although the prison sentence was in our opinion too lenient, it is nevertheless a step forward which will hopefully lead to larger penalties in the future,” said Vicky Nikolaou, member of the Nicosia district animal welfare committee.
In court, the 45-year-old had claimed to have been suffering from psychological issues as a result of the death of some family members.
“Although we understand the pain that a person can feel from losing family, we cannot excuse such gross neglect of animals,” Nikolaou said. “This is the worst case of neglect to a degree of cruelty that we have ever seen in dogs that have owners.”

• The announcement of the preliminary deal between Cyprus and the troika was followed by reports concerning the terms. These have not all been officially confirmed.

Labour Minister Sotiroulla Charalambous said the government succeeded in saving wage indexation or CoLA, which however will be frozen until 2016.

After that only 50 per cent of the established rate will be paid to the workers once a year instead of twice as it had been up to now.
Penalties will be introduced for civil servants retiring early, between 63 and 65, the minister said but details were not immediately available.
Reports said about 5,000 jobs in the government are due to be cut via voluntary or early retirements.

Other measures include:
- The lump sum civil servants receive on retirement will be partly taxed as of 2013
- Some allowances will be cut, others taxed or reduced by 15 per cent
- Retirement age will rise to 65 and from 2018 be linked to life expectancy. This is expected to rise by six months every five years after 2018
- Freeze in civil service recruitment until 2016
- There will also be staggered pay cuts and a temporary contribution that also affects private sector workers.
Other terms provide that part of the proceeds from natural gas would go toward paying off the public debt, with the rest going into a special investment fund and a part used for energy infrastructures.
The two sides also agreed that the semi-state Cyprus Telecommunications Authority would not be privatised unless the national debt became unsustainable, reports said.

• The Cyprus Mail visited the streets of Nicosia yesterday to find out peoples’ reaction to the preliminary agreement on a bailout between Cyprus and international lenders. They were asked how they feel this will affect them personally, if they felt the government had done a good job in their negotiations and whether they fully understand what the memorandum will entail.

Kyriakos Kalli, 62, an unemployed car parts salesman
Will anything really change? Where will the loan money go? Will it go to the ordinary people or will it go to the ministers' pockets?
Whether we want them here or not, the troika are a necessity right now.

Panikos, 65, shop owner
It’s simple, they’re trying to get our natural gas. The troika have dealt very well with the negotiations, but I can’t say the same for our government.
Although we don’t know the terms of the deal exactly I’m sure it will affect me financially and in turn psychologically and it could cause problems at home with my family.

Marios, 19, waiter
I don’t really pay much attention to the news but I don’t think the crisis is that big. This troika thing, I think people are blowing it out of proportion.

Theodoros Ellinas, 27, unemployed
Things should not have reached this point. We can no longer dream for the future, VAT and petrol prices will rise and salaries will fall, we can’t even make plans to have a family.

Veronika Tsilidou, 20, student
I don’t want to hear the word ‘troika’ anymore. We’re not even sure we will be able to afford to have any children.


Aris Aristotelous, 34, TV producer
The government should not sign a deal. I’m totally against any agreement between the troika and the government. This deal is going to affect me financially, of course and the government has not dealt well with any negotiations.


Robertos Hapsis, 38, café owner
I feel we’ve been kept slightly in the dark. I’m sure this deal will make it very difficult for us financially. Whatever deal has been struck was always going to be a no win situation.

Baret Genjelian, 49, bike mechanic
We haven’t been given the full details of any memorandum yet so it’s difficult to pass judgement if the government has done a good job or not. Whatever deal has been struck though I’m sure it will hit us in our pockets.

CIVIL servants union PASYDY yesterday said the terms of a bailout were a massacre for its members, who had been unfairly targeted, and suggested that some may be unconstitutional.
Speaking after the labour minister briefed unions on the terms of the bailout that affected workers, PASYDY boss Glafkos Hadjipetrou said they were unfair for government workers.
“All the measures target civil servants,” Hadjipetrou told reporters.
He said salaries, pensions and allowances have all been reduced and suggested that some of the measures were unconstitutional.
PASYDY has already filed appeals at the Supreme Court against measures passed in August last year.
Their basic argument is that the law violates the constitution in that it selectively targeted civil servants.
Among others, the plaintiffs, all members of PASYDY’s central secretariat, argue that the decision violates Article 24, which states that every person is bound to contribute according to their means towards the public burden, and Article 28 - all persons are equal before the law, “the administration and justice and are entitled to equal protection thereof and treatment thereby.”
“All these principles have been violated here,” Hadjipetrou said.
He said the measures impact the civil servants’ living standards and will also affect the market.
“We never said we did not want to pay. Our demand was for the measures to be fair, as provided by the constitution,” Hadjipetrou said.
He conceded however that there was no way to avoid a bailout under the circumstances.
The head of SEK, Nicos Moiseos, expressed concern.
He said the terms were “very tough” and “we are concerned whether these measures would provide a solution or if they will lead to deeper recession and greater unemployment.”
He said calm must prevail as the country and its economy were going through a difficult time.
Moiseos said his union will study the terms and decide accordingly.
His PEO counterpart described the terms as painful but an improvement on the international lenders’ initial positions.
“And we knew from the beginning that this negotiation would be very tough,” Pambis Kyritsis said. “There is no doubt that the government’s negotiation yielded results.”

CONSTRUCTION workers, infuriated by employers’ efforts to change the collective agreements governing their terms and conditions of work, called a 48-hour strike to underline their intention to put up a fight. A strike in the worst-hit sector of the economy, at a time when unemployment is at record levels does not seem a very clever idea, but it appears the only thing left for union bosses, wanting to show that they still wield some power.
This could be one of the few times that strike action, at least on the surface, appears justified as employers are determined to rewrite existing collective agreements. According to SEK union, employers insist on increasing working hours by two hours a week, stopping overtime and bonus pay and cutting wages by as much as 30 per cent; they also want to stop contributing to employees’ provident fund. These are drastic measures which workers are justified in resisting through strikes.
But it is unlikely the strike, even if it became indefinite as union bosses have threatened, would safeguard workers’ rights. Labour market conditions have radically changed in the last few years and the workers can no longer impose their terms on employers as had been the case for the previous 30 years. The labour shortages that allowed unions to secure big pay rises and more benefits every year no longer exist.
Now, there is not only an excess supply of workers but demand for workers has fallen because of the recession. In a free market, excess supply combined with low demand leads to falling prices - in the case of the labour market, wages. This trend has been evident in the non-unionised sectors of the economy for the last two to three years - wages on a downward trend - and it was only a matter of time before unionised sectors would be affected. In an extended recession, with unemployment rising, unions have no power to determine wages, no matter how many strikes they call.
What makes the construction workers’ strike even more surprising is that their sector is the worst hit by the recession, recording the highest unemployment figures. And unemployment figures will rise further if unions insist on preserving the collective agreements put together in the years of the construction boom. These salaries and working conditions cannot be sustained in these economic conditions and preserving them will lead to even more redundancies and closures of companies. Union bosses are well aware of this and the sooner they explain the facts to their members the better it will be for everyone.

THE European Commission yesterday said Cyprus had taken an important step towards a full agreement on a bailout programme after achieving decisive progress in discussions with international lenders.
Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly said the two sides had struck a “preliminary agreement” on the terms, adding that several more stages were needed before Cyprus received any financial assistance.
Economic and Monetary Affairs and Vice-President of the EC Olli Rehn welcomed the decisive progress, achieved after drawn-out talks in Nicosia.
“I consider this as an important step towards full agreement on an assistance programme for Cyprus,” Rehn said.
Officials made clear yesterday that the terms of the deal can only be finalised once the interim results of the due-diligence into the banks’ loan portfolios are known and after agreement by the Eurogroup. Those results are expected early December.
In a separate announcement, the European Commission, European Central Bank and the IMF, collectively known as the troika of lenders, said they have made good progress towards an agreement after “productive discussions with the Cypriot authorities on the policy building blocks of a macroeconomic adjustment programme”.
“Discussions are expected to continue from respective headquarters with a view to making further progress toward a potential programme,” the troika said.
The results of the due-diligence will inform discussions on financing solutions consistent with debt sustainability, they said.
Echoing the EU, a written statement from the presidency said the two sides had reached a convergence on the proposals which will formulate the loan memorandum.
“This development allows for the further advancement of the process, so as to secure the approval of a memorandum of understanding by the Eurogroup in December,” the statement said.
After that, the agreement would have to be approved by individual eurozone member-states.
According to the presidency statement, Cyprus expects to draw the first tranche of the loan towards the end of January.
Shiarly said this was the procedure followed in all cases where countries apply for a bailout.
"We have completed the first and most important stage which concerns the terms of the memorandum," the minister said, adding that the details of the programme will be processed so that it is officially submitted to the Eurogroup.
Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said the aim was to achieve a deal that would yield the necessary results to avoid additional measures.
“From the moment we were forced to resort to a stability mechanism we knew there would be painful measures and the government’s aim was, through tough negotiation … to keep alive certain important institutions for the workers and the people and at the same time preserve the economy’s prospects for the future,” Stefanou said.
The spokesman said the government will be briefing the party leaderships.
Main opposition DISY said it was not the end of the road for Cyprus.
“We have avoided the abyss at the eleventh hour,” DISY deputy chairman Averof Neophytou said. “It is not the end of the road because the measures demanded by our lenders will be painful.”
Neophytou said his party will work responsibly as “no one’s shoulders are strong enough to tackle this unprecedented crisis on their own”.
Ruling AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou said Cypriots should not be under the illusion that the road was paved with rose petals, referring to procedure ahead.
“It will be a difficult road, considering the approaches of member-states on many issues concerning Cyprus,” Kyprianou said.
Kyprianou said the president had been under intense pressure, domestic and foreign, to sign a deal without in-depth negotiation.
“It is proven by developments that tough negotiations can achieve improvements,” he said.
Kyprianou appealed to parties and the media not to get bogged down in pointless bickering and see how to cooperate to pull through.

Vassos Shiarly said the main areas have been agreed

Mr Christofias’ political and public reputation is in tatters. As the Green party leader Ioannou Panayiotou pointed out: the President had no idea where Mari was or the amount of the bailout loan needed by Cyprus.
My advice to Mr Christofias is to donate his upcoming bonus of €360,000 to struggling families in Cyprus. Maybe this small gesture could slightly rescue his reputation.
 
Vaso Constantinides, Nicosia

I would like to draw attention to some of the finer cultural attributes of Cyprus that, over years, may provide financial interest that could potentially generate millions of euros.
Cyprus has 10 Byzantine churches, festooned with wall paintings, frescoes and ancient icons bearing the seal of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, nestled amongst pine forests of the Troodos Mountains.
There are of course many more churches and monasteries that also retain important gems. To the south in Paphos, another UNESCO site, there are stunning mosaics of Roman villas, the Tomb of the Kings, an archaeological site and, mid south, the 8,000-year-old site of Choirokoitia together with Kourion - two more key UNESCO sites. Cyprus has 10,000 years of history and civilization spanning the major historical periods of the Bronze age, Classical and Roman periods, the Byzantine legacy, and many more modern periods, all having left their individual mark on the island for visitors to see.
Cyprus is thus a glorious and all embracing open-air museum. And yet, I feel we fail to fully appreciate this cultural heritage, at least in terms of cultural tourism.
By no means is Cyprus unique in great monuments, but many other nations labour intensely in publicising and promoting what their culture has to offer to overseas visitors, with a planned itinerary of travel, accommodation and specific site guides. The economic benefits must amount to millions of euros and I maintain that the Cyprus Tourism Organisation should follow suit in a much more vigorous manner.

Dimitrios Tsouris,
Larnaca

Naturally l feel sorry for Cyprus these days, but an English pal of mine, who had transfered 70,000 euros to a bank in Paphos to buy a flat that was for sale a year ago for 150,000 euros, emailed me recently with a very upsetting report.
Apparently, the bank would not let him have access to the money, saying he had to wait for seven or eight days more for the money to be clear in his account.
He changed his return flight to the UK at some inconvenience and expense, and was then told by the developer that a bank cheque was not acceptable, and only cash would do to finish the purchase in the land office.
So my friend went back to the bank to get cash.
Then, the bank said it could not give any cash over 500 euros a day, unless he made an application to the head office on a nice form they gave him in Greek that would take “about two weeks for all the money” to be released.
The topper was the developer didn’t even have a title deed. It turned out he only had a ‘contract of sale’ to register in the land office.
My pal saw red. He decided not to buy the flat, sent his money back home and told everyone he would be looking at Spain instead, where his wife was staying with friends while he did (not do) this business in Cyprus.
I’ve known this friend for 35 years. l guess he will now happily live with “driving on the wrong side of the road”, as he put it.

Dr Tom Davies,
Copenhagen

When the road works in Paphos are at their height, the disturbance to local communities and householders is beyond description.
Whole areas are blighted for weeks and months on end, with diversions taking a driver into hitherto unknown territory and directions typically running out of signs within a few twists and turns. The alternative routes are invariably strewn with bumps, potholes and appallingly broken surfaces which promise substantial expense to suspension systems.
The especially irritating feature of this municipal ‘enhancement’ is the fact that more often than not there is no work being carried out - and this is noticeable for days on end. Where are the work teams? Where is any explanation? Meanwhile, freshly asphalted roads within weeks are dug up by one utility company or another, with apparently no co-ordination with the local authority.
But more significantly, local businesses are being devastated. As if the recession isn’t bad enough, there are costs associated with these municipal goings-on which are totally hidden from the casual observer.
One middling to large and well-established business I regularly visit found its neighbours closing down because customers found it too daunting to get around the restrictions to gain access. In my example, trade fell off to such an extent that pensions had to be cashed in, family savings had to be plundered and this well-run and popular retailer very nearly went to the wall. We are talking around a quarter of a million euros which hit the business very hard and caused huge concern and anger.
Why the anger? Because not a cent in compensation was offered or available to ease the pain and the owners were forced to watch day after day as their customer base was steadily eroded through absolutely no fault of their own. What was particularly galling was to observe many days - and sometimes weeks - where no work was undertaken without any discernible reason.  
Paphos Municipality give the impression of being sorry, but their hands are tied since it seems no financial aid can be afforded. So the loss of business goes straight to the bottom line of established concerns, where unless back-up cash can somehow be found, those hard-working and well-regarded business people are simply pushed into penury and eventual demise.
Again, in the earlier example, the final outcome of all the months and months of roadworks, re-routing, and redistribution of land availability, has resulted in worse access as compared to what was possible before. It might have improved nearby traffic flow, but should that be the only consideration?
This financial stripping of local reputations through cavalier town planning, with no counselling, no pre-discussion, and no compensation, does seem grossly unfair, and one wonders how many of us have any idea of how damaging these redevelopments and ‘improvements’ actually are.

Clive Turner,
Paphos

• The figures speak for themselves. In Nicosia 1397 families are now receiving regular food packages to keep food on the table. In Limassol it’s 230, Larnaca 150 and in Paphos it is 500. And these are just the figures from the bigger programmes run by municipalities and the church. Every single one of these organisations expects those numbers to rise rapidly in the coming months, troika bailout or not.

‘There are families on no income’
By Alexandra Anastassiades
The church-run soup kitchen and the Limassol municipality’s community market are playing an increasingly important role in the town as more and more crisis-stricken families fall under the poverty line.
The community market is an initiative of the Limassol municipality that collects donated dried and canned food, household items and clothes and prepares them into packages to be given to families in need. In the 12 months it has been operating, the number of families requesting assistance has jumped from 25 to 230.
“Cases that last year were considered urgent, aren’t considered so this year,” head of Limassol municipality’s social welfare department, Evie Tsolaki, told the Sunday Mail.
“For example, the other day a mother of three who was on a salary of 800 euros a month, came and asked us for help. Although this would have been considered an urgent case last year, there are far worse cases now with families that receive no income at all requesting help.”
She said the department receives around 40 requests every week and the number keeps on rising.
“Although it is an initiative of the municipality, the community market operates on a voluntary basis and heavily relies on the volunteers’ help.”
Families requesting assistance are asked fill in an application at the market’s premises in Ayios Ioannis on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11am-12pm, and submit evidence of their income and expenses. Those who fulfil the criteria and whose details are verified and approved are notified and, depending on the availability of products, can come and receive their package. Urgent cases are given priority and are often given a few items when they come to submit their application to help them get by. 
The packages consist of dry foods such as pasta and rice, canned goods, cereal, fresh milk and even clothes, shoes and games. Children may receive extra powdered milk and both children and elderly people are regularly given extra diapers.
“All of the products are donated, either from supermarkets, suppliers or the public through events that we organise,” Tsolaki explains.
The Limassol bishopric’s soup kitchen has been around for six years and offers daily lunch to people in need. The effects of the economic crisis have driven more and more people to the soup kitchen with the number doubling from last year.
In this case, individuals must present a recommendation from a specific bishopric department that helps the needy, in order to be eligible for food. The department works in collaboration with the state welfare services to review individual cases.
“We have seen a sharp increase in people requesting help. The number has doubled in the past year,” Limassol bishopric’s Stavros Olympiou told the Sunday Mail.
“We serve over 500 portions of food a day, with people either eating at the premises or collecting the food as take away to be eaten for lunch or for dinner. We also pack 1,100 sandwiches and juice boxes a day to be given to students in need in schools all around Limassol.”



'It will get worse'
By Bejay Browne
Close to five hundred families in Paphos are in urgent need of regular help to keep food on their tables, municipal officials said this week.
A municipality social welfare committee programme to help needy families started in April with 150 families receiving some sort of food support. That number has now grown to 500 with officials expecting figures to increase rapidly.
“As the economic crisis takes its toll, more and more people are losing their jobs and there is an increasing growing number who have no money for food. This is a terrible situation and we are doing what we can to help, but I believe it will get worse before it gets better,” Maria Zavrou, the president of the Paphos social welfare committee, told the Sunday Mail
Eighty per cent of those requesting help are Cypriots, a statistic that Zavrou finds particularly poignant.
“Cypriots are proud and the Cyprus family is a very strong bond. Family members usually help each other out when in need. But now we have come to the point where they are not in a position to help anymore,” she said.
She said no-one is turned away, but families have to provide the correct paperwork to ensure that the correct people are being offered help.
The Paphos food programme is also co-operating with the state social services, which are passing on families who do not fulfill their criteria for help.
“There are some needy people who might not qualify for social service help, so they pass them on to us,” Zavrou said. ”Along with the social services, Paphos municipality, volunteer organisations and other associations, we have created a kind of network so that we are able to help people who really need it.”
Most of the needy in Paphos are young families, but the elderly are being given food parcels as well.
Large families with three or four children are given a basic package plus extra food and some are receiving help on a weekly basis.
The items are collected throughout the week from donations and food bought by the Paphos municipality; they are taken to the food support centre and put onto shelves. They are then packaged up into food parcels by the social welfare and volunteers and are handed out at lunchtime every Friday.
A basic food parcel includes necessary staples such as sugar, flour, long life milk, pasta, rice, pulses, cooking oil and coffee.
“We also give any other items we may have collected, including tinned goods. If there are children in the family they are also given products such as cornflakes and cookies,” Zavrou said. A basic package costs about 35-40 euros and around 65 families receive weekly help with the rest being given parcels either once or twice a month.
With Christmas looming, a major collection drive is underway at all major supermarkets in Paphos.
“We are placing volunteer-manned collection points at the supermarkets to encourage shoppers to donate goods for needy families at Christmas. They can purchase whatever they want and place it in the container. These will then be packaged up and given to the people in time for Christmas.”
Paphos municipality is purchasing 500 chickens to be given to the families for the festive season.
Zavrou said although there is wide-spread support for the programme, the municipality is trying to get more people involved to meet the demand for help.
“We now have a programme to involve school children as well. They will help us at the supermarkets and parents are being encouraged to bring products to schools which will then be passed on to us.”
Zavrou fears that next year will be worse.
“We will see the cuts in salaries and banks pushing for loans to be repaid. Homes may be repossessed as well,” she said. “Next year, we may have to have a soup kitchen which will provide hot meals for those without food.”



‘We can’t give everyone food’
By Peter Stevenson
WHEN the Larnaca municipality-run community market opened in March to provide weekly food parcels to families in need, it helped 40 families. By last week it was giving basic food items to 150.
Each week more and more applications are made to the committee made up of three municipal councillors from the social welfare office who have the unenviable task of reviewing each case and deciding which individuals or families need help.
Every week they review 30 cases, looking at how many members are in each family, what income they receive, if they are unemployed and if they receive any benefits from the government. This criteria needs to be documented and it is the responsibility of each family to have any paper work confirmed by their community leader.
Not all cases are approved by the committee as they may be deemed to receive enough benefit, although each case is reviewed differently. Larnaca’s committee is following the model set by Limassol municipality, which started the first community market.
“We can’t give everyone food, and although we don’t want to see anyone hungry in Larnaca, there are strict guidelines that we must follow,” said councillor and head of the committee Elias Elia.
Every Thursday Larnaca council members collect food from different businesses, ranging from bakers and delicatessen meat suppliers to paediatricians. Members of the public also donate.
Eligible families and individuals go on a Friday to the market to collect food which is placed in bags. The value of the donations ranges from €20 and €30 depending on what donations the council has received that week. The bags contain different dry and canned foods such as pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes and also seasonal fruit and vegetables.
All of the collected food is donated by local businesses and the public.
“All of the volunteers and people that are contributing with donations are truly a blessing from God,” said Elia. “It truly is rewarding to be able to help our fellow man in need, because for all we know it could be you and me in their situation.”
“Even though the crisis is worsening, the donations are increasing,” said a volunteer from the market who wished to remain nameless.
The council also plans to start collecting clothing as part of the aid it gives families in need.
“There is a need to collect as many things as possible to give a meaningful donation to the families who truly need it, sending a message of support and help,” Larnaca Mayor Andreas Louroutziatis said this week.
Larnaca municipality will also be handing out turkey dinners, soft drinks and Christmas cakes on New Year’s day for those families that qualify for assistance.


In Nicosia the church leads the way
By Christos Theodorides
IN NICOSIA it is the church which has taken the responsibility for spearheading a system for providing food packages to families in need.
The church, under the direct initiative of Archbishop Chrysostomos II, opened a food market on May 21 this year where families that are in immediate need can receive food.
It is down to the parish priests, who have direct contact with their flock, to evaluate the needs of their communities and keep the archbishopric updated by sending in lists of Cypriot families who need help.
In May, the number of families that received help was 515. It is now 1397, according to the archbishopric’s Father Ieronymos who is in charge of the programme. He estimates that by Christmas that figure could reach 2,500. The size of each family receiving help can be anywhere between one and eight members.
“The Pallouriotissa parish, for example, began with 66 families and has reached 104 to date, whilst the St Spyridona parish started off with 92 and now totals 138 families,” said Father Ieronymos.
To begin with, providing food cost between €21,000 and €27,500 a month. This has now risen to €40,000 with the amount expected to rise sharply in 2013. Most of the money is donated by the church with the rest coming from donations made by private businessmen or from different fundraisers which the church has organised.
The church purchases the goods directly from the suppliers at wholesale prices, handing them out in packs, once a month. These packs contain 18 different goods, including cereal, pulses, pasta, tomato concentrate, tuna, processed meat and fresh.
Help is also given to Cypriots living in Greece.
“There is currently a market operating in Athens, at Athens Cypria, where rooms have been made available to give out packs of food to help the 197 Cypriot families that are living in Athens,” Father Ieronymous said. There is also a market in Kallithea and Daphni for the parishioners of those areas.
Although Nicosia municipality has not yet followed the example of other municipalities in providing food packages to struggling families, sources at Nicosia town hall said this week they plan to start a similar project soon.

A volunteer packs up a food box at the archbishopric in Nicosia

Paphos mayor Savvas Vergas is shown round the town's community market by volunteers

The community food market in Limassol

Goods that have been donated await distribution

CYPRUS has been saved from bankruptcy at what was literally the eleventh hour following a saga starting last weekend and culminating on Thursday noon.
The slide down the slippery slope leading to the abyss was stopped with a rushed statement from President Demetris Christofias on Thursday when he announced “we are very close” to an agreement with the troika.
Christofias’ statement defused a time bomb, just a breath short of the explosion, saving the financial sector from meltdown. Those who took it upon themselves to prevent the disaster had a very hard time getting Christofias to lift his objections to a bailout.
The banking sector’s woes combined with the endemic problems of public finances have been dominating public debate and the news for two years now.
Regardless of how things came to this point and who was to blame, there was only one cure - appealing to the European support mechanism and signing a memorandum for financial assistance that would prop up the banks and fund the state, which was excluded from international markets. The Cyprus government stubbornly refused to accept this reality and exhausted all existing possibilities over securing loans so that it could hand over the problem to the next government.
The government’s procrastination and, to a large extent, its refusal to tackle the problems created new problems – it destroyed its trustworthiness and fuelled uncertainty. The recession worsened and in conjunction with the lack of political will to tackle it, the economy was driven to an even deeper recession.
But the government, according to what the president had said on November 14, was primarily concerned with securing a bailout with the right content. “The content of an agreement to salvage the Cyprus economy is a more important variable than the time factor,” he said.
His statement demonstrated that the government was not aware of the critical importance of the time factor reinforcing the widely-held view that the president had lost touch with reality.
AKEL’s stance on a “memorandum with the right content” was also adopted by the party’s presidential candidate, Stavros Malas. In fact, Malas’ team launched a campaign to convince the public that it would be better to get by without a memorandum until not only after the presidential elections but the following summer!
On November 16 AKEL assured the public on TV discussion programmes that based on EU contacts, they had established that Germany was not willing to approve a bailout package before the elections so we would have to find money to get by until conditions in Europe were right.
Those who were aware of the gravity of the situation and were not bound by AKEL’s central committee decisions – finance minister Vassos Shiarly and Central Bank Governor Panicos Demetriades – took it upon themselves to wake the party from its slumber.
At the same time, they sought and secured the support of opposition leader Nicos Anastasiades of DISY.
While AKEL representatives were creating an anti-bailout climate, Anastasiades penned (November 16) a stern letter to Christofias, calling on him to assume his responsibilities and warning him that if he allowed the economy to collapse he would not be just politically responsible, but could also face charges of criminal negligence. DISY was aware of a European Central Bank (ECB) decision to turn off the taps of emergency liquidity assistance to Cyprus banks if no memorandum was agreed by January 20. The prospect was frightening.
On November 16 Demetriades asked to meet Anastasiades and informed him that everything was hanging by a string. Demetriades told the opposition chief that because the capitalisation needs of the banking sector were unclear and the sector was at breaking point, the only remedy was the immediate signing of a deal with the troika. Without an agreement the banks would not stay afloat for longer than a few weeks; he could not rule out the possibility of a turn for the worst within days.
Anastasiades showed Demetriades a copy of the letter he sent Christofias and an accompanying letter addressed to Demetriades himself, rendering him also responsible for the precarious situation of the economy. Anastasiades and Demetriades agreed to inform the press that signing a memorandum was a matter of the utmost urgency. Demetriades also informed Christofias of the ECB decision in writing, arguing that troika’s representatives should not leave Cyprus without an agreement.
On November 17 discussions between the troika and the government’s negotiating team collapsed.
Meanwhile the anti-bailout campaigning by AKEL and the government was at it height. They kept leaking scare stories about troika wanting “to get its hands on our natural gas”, undermine our state sovereignty and destroy our pension system. Commerce minister Neoclis Sylikiotis raised the ante by clashing with the troika’s representatives and the finance ministry’s technocrats during talks.
Despite the negotiations’ confidentiality, government members leaked even the exchanges with troika members, cultivating negative perceptions about their intentions. The troika decided to wrap up negotiations and leave Cyprus. The head of the troika mission in Cyprus Maarten Verwey got in touch with the EU Commissioner for economic and monetary affairs Olli Rehn who advised against this, instructing the troika to stay on for a few days more.
Last Saturday, Politis newspaper reported that the ECB had set a deadline for liquidity assistance to Cypriot banks, which rang alarm bells at the Central Bank. This news could have sparked a bank run if there was no agreement by Monday morning when the banks opened.
Already throughout the previous week, people were withdrawing deposits from the Laiki Bank, if the panic spread there would be withdrawals from all banks and it would be impossible to control the situation.
At that critical juncture, the Governor and Shiarly took over and sealed a deal for the banking sector with the troika on Sunday. The deal was announced on Sunday night and came as a big surprise to everyone. It acted as a spoiler to AKEL’s plans of avoiding the signing of bailout on the grounds that the troika was making unreasonable demands and a deal was impossible. The announcement of the banking sector agreement boosted confidence and created the impression that a deal could be reached on all issues.
Monday started optimistically with the government spokesman saluting the agreement on the banks. But by evening the situation came unstuck again with the government carrying on leaking negative information aimed at creating a picture of a talks’ collapse.
The government was split. On the one side were Shiarly and finance ministry technocrats and on the other were the AKEL central committee members, headed by Sylikiotis who carried on their misinformation tactics, telling the media that they were resisting foreign plans to take control of our natural gas.
Negotiations continued on Tuesday when either an agreement or a collapse was expected. On Tuesday night Christofias attended the opening ceremony for a new building in Psevdas, during which he repeated his red lines but left a ray of hope for an agreement and consensus among the parties.
“I am sure that when push comes to shove, instead of each one of us dealing with the other on the basis of expediencies we will have to come together and see how we can face the island’s huge problems. It is a national imperative,” Christofias said.
Wednesday was the most important day. It was most certainly troika’s last day in Cyprus and all eyes were on the party leaders meeting at the presidential palace. Christofias called the leaders to update them and ask their views. According to presidential palace sources, Christofias was overwhelmed with fear of having to face another Mari (the blast that killed 13 people and knocked out the island’s main electricity station in the summer of 2011), this time with regard to the economy. His plan was to get the party leaders to push for a signing of a bailout so he could agree with them, under protest. Anastasiades went in with his own strategy: let the government tell the opposition what it wants. The DISY leader read out a new letter to the president asking him to state in writing what his position was on the economy and how he planned to manage it. The rest of the leaders backed Anastasiades’ proposal which angered Christofias, who lost his temper and said he would not sign a bailout; he also showed his irritation with Shiarly and Demetriades. During the meeting, Shiarly said if troika left there was a risk it would not come back and he was not in a position to know whether negotiations would carry on.
The disagreements and squabbling was widely reported, causing confusion and more uncertainty.
Once calm prevailed at the palace, the decision was taken to overturn the climate by announcing that negotiations with the troika would carry on. After meetings of several hours, counter-proposals were prepared by the government in an effort to sugar-coat the pill. On Wednesday evening the drama moved to the Hilton hotel where Shiarly, government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou and under-secretary to the president Titos Christofides hosted a dinner for the troika big-wigs in order to agree the remaining issues. Sylikiotis was not invited.
At about midnight they informed Christofias, who was in Brussels, they achieved the best possible outcome at the negotiations. Christofias once again postponed making a decision until the following day, hoping he would get political support from Brussels for his refusal to agree to a bailout. He found none.
On Thursday morning the market reacted to the previous day’s shambolic meeting and the troika’s departure. Substantial deposits started being withdrawn from Laiki from early morning. The Central Bank Governor, who was attending an ECB board meeting, was informed.
Demetriades got on the phone to Anastasiades to tell him that signing a bailout was imperative to stop the bleeding. Anastasiades had already announced a news conference to release the letters he had sent to Christofias to pressure him into taking a decision.
Demetriades also got in touch with Christofias in Brussels and told him that big funds were being withdrawn from Laiki and only an announcement that a memorandum was agreed would stop this. If this did not happen immediately, the rest of the banks would come under the same pressure and the economy would collapse, warned Demetriades. Finding no sympathy in Brussels, Christofias finally made up his mind to say ‘yes’ to the bailout proposal. He issued an announcement saying we “were very close” to an agreement with the troika.
His statement calmed things down. Anastasiades did not release the correspondence and in the afternoon parliament approved an additional €3 billion in state guarantees for the banks. On Thursday evening the government announced that an agreement was reached with troika.
On Friday the markets calmed down, the deposit withdrawals from Laiki stopped and the situation was stabilised.
Following the announcements, the signing of a bailout is a formality. Cyprus may be given a hard time when the Euro group has to approve the deal and national parliaments, the approval of which is also needed, may impose additional terms, but the process is now out of the government’s hands; whatever form the bailout finally takes, it will be obliged to accept.
The most important thing is that the recapitalisation of the banks would go ahead, public confidence would be restored and there would be no danger of the liquidity taps being turned off. The threat of collapse has been seen off.
Former president of the republic George Vasiliou, who was in favour of the memorandum from the outset, said the danger is behind us. “The banking system was just a breath away from collapse but is now considered safe. The banks’ problems will be permanently resolved with their recapitalisation after the memorandum is signed, but the announcement for an initial agreement has unblocked the cash flow system and there is no more reason to worry,” he said.

Breaking point - the meeting with party leaders at the palace on Wednesday night

WORKERS are not under obligation to commit to possible plans that will harm social cohesion and collective agreements, a workers’ union said yesterday.
Representing civil servants and employees and semi-governmental organisations, SIDIKEK-PEO said that even though a global crisis had hurt Cyprus’ economy, it was not actually necessary to ask for an EU bailout.
Cyprus’ lenders are trying to impose non-acceptable terms and austerity measures as they have in other countries, but unions in Cyprus have been working towards maintaining social cohesion, the announcement said. The union said that some politicians did not support the government but helped lenders impose extortionate terms.

PRESIDENTIAL candidate Nicos Anastasiades said yesterday he will respect the will of the people in regards to the Cyprus problem if he is elected. 
The DISY leader was addressing the central committee of DIKO, which is supporting his candidacy.
He assured DIKO members who were against the Annan plan for a solution to the Cyprus problem that even though he stood in favour of the plan, he fully respected the result and was bound by the choice of the Greek Cypriot people, most of whom voted against the plan.

FOREIGN minister Erato Kozakou-Marocoullis is due to visit Skopje as the presiding head of the general affairs council.
Marcoullis will have a number of meetings in Skopje – the capital of the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia – before moving on to Germany to participate in a defence and security conference: Europe and its Neighbours – Common Responsibility for a Stable Continent.
Later in the week, Marcoullis is due to go to Suriname in South America to address a conference on foreign policy and security issues between African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and the EU.

POLICE officers yesterday handed out leaflets and showed educational films while a theatre group performed an ‘intervention’ to highlight family violence issues.
The event at My Mall in Limassol took place in anticipation of today’s UN international day for the elimination of violence against women.
Across the world, organisations raise public awareness on violence against women on November 25, that marks an assassination in 1960 of three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic.

AUTHORITIES across the island have been carrying out a number of campaigns this week to combat crime, tackle illegal immigration and enforce anti-gambling legislation, police said.
Police spokesman Andreas Angelides said the police would intensify anti-gambling campaigns during the Christmas holiday season when leisurely Cypriots like to gamble.
“There is a specific roadmap and plan,” he said referring to efforts to enforce recent legislation rendering online gambling illegal.
Police searched eleven betting shops across the island on Friday night, confiscating computers, printers and cash.
Authorities arrested 17 people at a betting shop in Larnaca where they were caught playing poker with money, and everyone present, whose ages ranged from 23 to 50, were charged, an announcement said.
Police confiscated €3,901 in cash, two tables, playing cards and tokens.
The 23-year-old betting shop supervisor was also charged for taking football bets without a licence.
As of July 2012, police have checked 85 places, confiscated about €19,000 and 100 computers, 65 printers and charged 103 people, police said.
Between December 10 this year and January 13 next year, police will follow leads checking premises where gambling is thought to take place, Angelides said.
This includes homes and traditional cofeeshops and clubs.

CYPRUS alone among all qualifying countries has managed to spend all the money paid by the EU cohesion funds, using about €54 million to fund big projects, the planning bureau said this week.
The planning bureau, a governmental body responsible for promoting and coordinating economic growth, said that Cyprus was the “most effective” country in absorbing the cohesion funds available to it in 2011 as part of works approved in the 2000-2006 period.
Cyprus used its €54 million plus to complete two projects: the Koshi waste management plant and major road works in the junctions of Ayios Athanasios and Yermasoyia in Limassol.
The planning bureau did not release information about works approved for the 2007-2013 period because the relevant EU regulation “does not ask for the submission of an annual report,” an announcement said. The planning bureau could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Sixteen member states – among them Greece, Ireland, Slovenia and Hungary – collectively had 1,192 projects approved with most – 808 – concerning the environment. A total of 271 approved works concerned transport and 109 were technical, the planning bureau said. A remaining four projects were classified as “mixed”.
In total, projects were valued at €32.2 billion, although countries managed to absorb €27.9 billion or 86.8 per cent of available funds.
Ireland was the second most effective country in absorbing funds, spending 94.5 per cent or almost €5.4 billion out of the available €5.7 billion.
The least effective country was Hungary that spent 76.4 per cent of the funds allocated to it. Hungary spent about €1.1 billion but had available just under €1.5 billion.
Spain had by far the biggest amount to spend with roughly €11.7 billion allocated to it, though it spent about €10.4 billion or 88.9 per cent of that. At €8.3 billion, Lithuania had the second biggest amount to spend, of which it absorbed €7.1 billion or 86.4 per cent.
Cyprus, a small country, had the second smallest amount allocated to it after Malta, an even smaller country that was given €21.9 million to spend absorbing €17.5 million or 80 per cent.

The waste recycling plant in Koshi

WHO WOULD ever have thought that our Marxist-Leninist president would have agreed to all those unacceptable anti-worker measures proposed by the neo-liberal, colonialist loan sharks of the troika to save the ruthless representatives of capitalist exploitation – the banks.
Could there have been a worse humiliation for a communist ideologue who had devoted his life to championing the rights of the proletariat and made the creation of a fairer society the guiding light of his presidency, than to betray everything he stood for in order to rescue the hated banks.
It was the banks’ big problems that forced him to apply for financial assistance and invite the troika to the bankrupt sunshine isle in the first place, but it would never have occurred to him – not in his scariest nightmares – that he would end up acting as the saviour of institutions that make their profits from screwing poor people.
The future of Kyproulla’s banking system was in his hands on Thursday and he could have brought about its collapse by doing what he does best - nothing – but instead he spoke the magic words from Brussels. In a written statement, he said the government was ‘very close’ to an agreement with the troika in the hope of stopping the withdrawal of money from Laiki and it worked.
His action will have earned him a place in world history as the first ever communist leader who came to the rescue of the banks. He deserves world recognition for this.

IT GETS better. He was persuaded to save the banks – and the economy it should be said – by his former comrade, Professor Panicos Demetriades, whom he had appointed Governor of the Central Bank back in May in place of the shameless neo-liberal Athanasios Orphanides.
The professor, appointed for his left-wing economic views and the AKEL links of members of his family, turned out to be a big disappointment for the comrade, even though in the first few months of his Governorship he behaved like a true red Akelite.
He sidelined the members of the Orph regime, made an Akelite his second-in-command and zealously participated in the commies’ demonisation campaign against the banks. He even brought in consultancy firm Alvarez & Marsal to investigate the banks’ reckless decisions to find the guilty parties and surrender them to the AKEL lynch mob.
The investigators were also asked to find evidence of the inadequate supervision by Orph, so as to support the commies’ propaganda claim that he was to blame for the bank’s woes all the economy’s problems. The A&M investigation has not yet been completed.
Having been warned by the European Central Bank that the taps of emergency liquidity assistance would be turned off if we did not sign a bailout and seeing the government building public opposition to the troika he decided to act.
To his credit, he forgot his debt to AKEL for his cushy, highly-paid job and did everything he could to prevent the collapse of the whole system including standing up to the autocratic comrade who only has time for yes-men.

THE PROFESSOR recruited the help of the DISY Fuhrer, and made public pleas for the immediate signing of a bailout and privately tried to persuade the obstinate comrade to get the deal with the troika done.
Nothing worked until Thursday morning, when he was informed that millions of deposits were being withdrawn from Laiki Bank putting it under severe pressure. A panicking Panicos contacted the comrade in Brussels and the fear of being debited with a banking collapse, and all its devastating consequences finally helped him make up his mind.
For the first time in his term in office, the comrade acted decisively. He immediately issued a statement, saying the government and the troika were ‘very close’ to a deal. On Thursday evening it was reported from Brussels that an agreement had been reached with the troika, which was not, strictly speaking, true but it served to calm nerves and rule out the possibility of a bank run.
The panicking Panicos had finally gotten through to the comrade, even though his actions – fraternising with the Fuhrer and speaking out in public against the government’s indecision – meant the he is now, officially, out of favour, struck off the list of the comrade’s trusted yes-men.

THE COMRADE will find it very difficult to come to terms with Panicos’ betrayal. He said so at Wednesday’s farcical presidential palace meeting with the party leaders during which he attacked both the Governor and his detested finance minister Vasos Shiarly.
In one his outbursts the comrade reportedly said with a degree of bitterness and condescension, “First we had Thanasis (Orphanides), now we have Panicos.” He is cursed to have a Central Bank Governor that would cause him grief.
The irony is that both Governors he managed to fall out with had impeccable AKEL credentials. Thanasis was from a bona fide AKEL family while Panicos’ grandfather was known as The Bolshevik. Why do these sons of the big AKEL family denounce the party once they sit in the Central Bank Governor’s chair?
Who poisons their minds and turns them against the Party? Thanasis may have been the victim of brain-washing while working in the US, but Panicos had preserved his left-wing prejudices while in the UK. Could it be that once he got to know Akelites better he decided he did not want to have anything to do with them, especially as they would be out of power in three months?

I CANNOT hide my admiration for the commies’ propaganda machinery. A few hours after the comrade had capitulated, agreeing to shaft the public parasites as the troika had been demanding, they were praising him for securing the best possible terms.
The resistance offered by the government in negotiations had yielded positive results, their spokesmen argued. We achieved a better bailout thanks to the brilliant negotiating of our government which had proved how wrong the opposition parties were in calling for the signing of deal without a fight.
“Once again it was proved that this government does not give in easily and it defends with vigour the conquests and rights of the working people,” trumpeted the party mouthpiece in an editorial. The unions were not so impressed with the governemnt’s defence of their members’ conquests and rights.
As Hadjiklamouris pointed out, after being briefed by the labour ministry about the bailout’s provisions, the workers “were slaughtered”. Then again, expressing gratitude is not something the chief public parasite is known for.

THE HAGGLING with the troika completely overshadowed the visit of Big Bad Al. Both leaders snubbed the cocktail party he gave for diplomatic missions at Chateau Status.
Eroglu did not go because Al had not invited his overlord, Turkey’s ambassador, while the comrade claimed he was busy dealing with the troika. But Tof could not have been so busy if he had time to go to Psevdas, on the day of the reception, for the opening ceremony of another village periptero.
Nevertheless, Al did manage to attract some negative press, by saying that the solution of the Cyprob would be a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation or something else. This incensed the supporters of the BBF at Phil, which headlined its story “Downer bomb regarding the basis for solution.”

PRESIDENTIAL candidate Yiorkos Lillikas, aka Tsipras Mark II, seized the opportunity to have a go at the Turk-loving Aussie. But if he wants anyone to take notice of his bash-patriotic posturing he should show a little more originality. Dismissing Al’s statements as “provocative and unacceptable” is just so lazy and boring.
Everyone uses these exact adjectives as soon as Al opens his mouth. Lillikas, who claims he is different from the rest of the politicians, must think of better adjectives. His predictability does not end there. He also urged the government to demand the immediate replacement of Al, because “he undermines our national interests and with his behavior he promotes the objectives of Ankara.”
The funny thing is that Yiorkos, when he is not playing the national saviour, likes to think of himself as a great communications strategist. If he were he may have known that repeating the exact same boring platitudes people have heard millions of times is not a very smart communications ploy.

I MUST say I feel sorry for poor old Ethnarch Junior who is destroying all the good work he has done in the last couple of years, as a tough critic of the Tof government’s suicidal economic policies. He is now running the risk of destroying the image he built by insisting on supporting Tsipras’ the Second’s presidential candidacy.
This week he was on the radio urging the government to sign a bailout immediately, because the alternative would be catastrophic. But he is also backing Lillikas who is fanatically opposed to the signing of a bailout. Attacking the government for not signing a bailout, while supporting a candidate, who opposes signing a bailout, seems a bit schizophrenic.

IT IS NOT only the banks that need a bailout. The Orphanides supermarket chain could also have done with a big injection of cash, but its survival is not considered essential to the smooth functioning of the economy, at least by the IMF.
The company is set to go into administration, but at present its two biggest creditors, Laiki and the BofC, are bickering over the identity of the administrator. Both banks want to keep the company afloat because if it sank they stood to lose huge amounts of money, not to mention the chain’s hundreds of creditors who would go down with it.

THE GOOD news is that there are only 91 days left of the communist presidency that sacrifices the rights of the workers in order to keep the banks in business. 

He finally became a yes man in Brussels this week

ALTHOUGH hundreds of families in Cyprus are currently dependant on food packages given by the church and municipalities in the weeks and months to come more and more people will be unable to provide for their family, organisations have said.
In Nicosia alone, the church helps 1,397 families, while municipalities elsewhere in Cyprus provide regular food packages for hundreds more. In Limassol there are 230 families, in Larnaca 150, and in Paphos 500.
“Cases that last year were considered urgent, aren’t considered so this year,” said the head of Limassol municipality’s social welfare department, Evie Tsolaki. She helps coordinate the community market providing packages for families from donated food, household and clothes items. The number of people asking for help keeps rising and they now have to turn away cases they would have considered urgent just a year ago, Tsolaki said. And the Limassol bishopric’s soup kitchen that has been around for six years says that requests for help have doubled this year.
And though in Limassol the soup kitchen serves 500 people daily, parish priests across Nicosia collectively help 1,397 families, and more keep coming. “The Palouriotissa parish, for example, began with 66 families and has reached 104 to date, while the St Spyridona parish started off with 92 and now totals 138 families,” said the archbishopric’s Father Ieronymos, who runs a food package help programme.
Larnaca municipality that has seen its community market programme almost quadruple in size in the eight months it has been around, has said it is impossible to help everyone. In March, the community market provided weekly food parcels to 40 families but last week it was giving basic food items to 150. “We can’t give everyone food, and although we don’t want anyone to go hungry in Larnaca, there are strict guidelines that we must follow,” said councillor and head of the committee that runs the scheme, Elias Elia.
And in Paphos, where social welfare now helps 500 people with food support, officials are grinding their teeth in anticipation.
“This is a terrible situation and we are doing what we can to help, but I believe it will get worse before it gets better,” said the head of Paphos’ social welfare committee, Maria Zavrou.

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Goods that have been donated await distribution