IT WAS inevitable that the police who tried to restore order, at 5am on Monday morning, when faced with some 60 reportedly drunk and disorderly teenagers, would be accused of using excessive force. Yesterday morning, on a radio show, an outraged representative of the parents’ association of the teenagers’ school accused the police of exactly that, avoiding mentioning, however, what he would have considered adequate force.

And of course the students also claimed they were blameless, telling one daily newspaper that they had done nothing wrong – the smashing of school windows and setting fires to dustbins was the work of outsiders who had arrived at the school before them, a student said. As for the two students who had been arrested by the police, they had done nothing wrong – one was handcuffed after just ‘touching’ an officer on the arm, while the second was charged for trying to prevent the arrest. 

“They treated us like criminals,” one student was quoted as saying, subscribing to the hyperbole used by the parent that complained about ‘excessive force’. But how should drunken teenagers vandalising school property at five in the morning be treated? Perhaps the parents’ association of the school should advise police how to deal with unruly and anti-social behaviour by drunken teenagers, in the early hours. Should the police have offered the unruly kids coffee and toast? 

The problem is that nobody takes responsibility for their actions. The students insisted they had done nothing wrong, blaming outsiders (as if non-students have nothing better to do at 5am than go around smashing the windows of random secondary schools) and of course the police for not treating them as law-abiding citizens. But for the parents to ignore their kids' behaviour by shifting blame to the police was beyond belief. Why do parents allow their children to be out drinking until the early hours, something that invites trouble? And why do the schools allow the holding of parties for school-leavers at which there is alcohol consumption until the early hours?

Nobody is to blame for all this except the police who are forced to deal with the consequences of everyone else’s irresponsible actions. Nobody is asking why inebriated teenage students were out and about at dawn, causing damage to school property and ignoring police orders. This was totally unacceptable behaviour and the parents’ association should have been condemning the school-kids’ behaviour instead of blaming the police. It is time children were taught to take responsibility for their actions, if they are ever to become responsible adults.

YEARS of omissions and delays have forced the government to submit provisional immovable property tax legislation (IPT) in a bid to meet immediate bailout conditions, but which will have to be amended by the end of June to make it fairer, spokesman Christos Stylianides said yesterday.

The spokesman said authorities lacked sufficient data to prepare a comprehensive proposal but at the same time the bill had to be approved in the next few days for Cyprus to be eligible for the much-needed first tranche of a €10 billion bailout at the beginning of May. 

“Unfortunately, past omissions and shortcomings have resulted in insufficient data,” Stylianides said, adding that the government could not accept the current distortions in the system.

Cyprus has until now taxed properties according to their 1980s values while many properties have not even been registered. 

“There are whole areas in Limassol, Nicosia, and Larnaca, where houses worth millions of euros are built, which do not have a building permit at the moment and are considered plots and fields,” Stylianides said. 

This means any law passed under current circumstance would be unfairly distributed among registered home owners. 

The administration was asking for more time, pledging to have a fairer final proposal before parliament by the end of June.

“We must send a bill to parliament … because we all know that we need the disbursement of the first tranche. We expect the approval of this proposal being fully aware there will be a much better and much fairer IPT by June,” Stylianides said.

The finalised IPT was expected to be paid by property owners towards the end of September.

Stylianides said the state would use information and data held by local authorities, the land registry and even the VAT service.

The finance and interior ministries judged that they could not collect all the data in such a short time, he said.

“We are asking for this small extension because we saw that the data is distorted and insufficient,” Stylianides said.

The bill aims to raise €75 million on top of the €30 million collected from the IPT in 2012.

Stylianides said the final bill provided for €125 million in revenues from IPT – €75 million plus €30 million plus a ‘cushion’ included because “not everyone will be able to respond during the specific timeframe.”

“’Cushions’ are included in all memoranda in all countries,” the spokesman said.

According to the bill, reports said, individuals will pay between €50 for a property valued at €12,500 in 1980 to €51,419 for those over €3.0 million.

Owners whose properties were worth between €40,001 to €120,000 would pay an average €305 and a maximum of €640.

Properties worth between €170,001 and €300,00 will be taxed an average €1,500. The maximum amount for this bracket will reach €2,340, reports said.

Cyprus has until now taxed properties according to their 1980s values while many properties have not even been registered

When Germany advanced to the 2010 World Cup semi-finals with four-goal wins over England and Argentina it became clear something special was brewing in German football.

Fast forward three years and two more four-goal thrashings for German sides this week showed the nation's international comeback looks to have jumped on another stage.

Borussia Dortmund gave Real Madrid a lesson in attacking football on Wednesday, crushing the nine-time European champions 4-1 in their Champions League semi-final first leg 24 hours after Bayern Munich's 4-0 demolition of Barcelona.

The duo are heavy favourites to make it a first all-German Champions League final, which would guarantee an end to the country's 12-year wait to lift the famous trophy.

Much of the success can be credited to a move which came a year after Bayern defeated Valencia on penalties in 2001 to win a fourth title.

Fed up with a lack of international success, youth academies became a prerequisite in 2002 for all first and second division German clubs.

More than 700 million euros has been pumped in to youth work nationwide since with Dortmund's fledgling side showing the investment has clearly paid off.

Germany internationals Mats Hummels, Marco Reus, Mario Goetze, Marcel Schmelzer, Ilkay Guendogan and Sven Bender all mesmerised with their attacking game on Wednesday as the expensively assembled Real side had no answer.

None of the six took part in the last World Cup as they were too young, but their emergence bodes well for the national team and perhaps justifies why the German Football Association (DFB) picked Dortmund as the venue for their national football museum which will open in 2014.

All the talk before Wednesday's clash had been on another Dortmund youth academy product, though, after the club agreed to sell Mario Goetze to Bayern the day before for a reported 37 million euros.

Dortmund, however, were unfazed as striker Robert Lewandowski fired four goals to leave them dreaming of asecond Champions League title and Real stunned as their hopes of a 10th look to have been postponed for another year.

"Dortmund were the better team, mentally and physically and they deserved to win," Real coach Jose Mourinho told reporters, who were more eager for him to talk about Dortmund than his own team.

"Germany has developed a very good generation of players at the moment," Mourinho added.

Dortmund also beat Real in the group stages this year, all part of their unbeaten run in the tournament this season, but bosses at the German club were eager to keep their players grounded.

"We have kicked open the doors that lead to Wembley but we still need to slide through them a week from now," saidDortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke.

THE LIMASSOL Solidarity concert that took place at the Enaerios parking place on Wednesday from 5pm until around midnight was attended by around 25,000 people and collected 160 tonnes of food and essentials to be distributed among the municipality markets in Limassol.

The concert had a similar theme as the CyprusAid concert held in Nicosia on April 1. Instead of paying for your ticket with money, you contributed essential food and items to be given to the needy.

Limassol Mayor Andreas Christou said yesterday that apart from the collection of food and essentials, the messages that were sent were just as important. “Messages of confidence, optimism, and faith show us that these difficult times will also pass.”

“I also felt people needed to attend a good cultural event because at difficult times culture is a very important element to keep people together,” Christou said.

Christou also said that the concert could not have been possible without the generous participlation of the artists, the volunteers and organizers.

Among the artists that performed free of charge were Alexia, Alkistis Protopsalti, Giorgos Dalaras, Glykeria, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, George Andreou, Margarita Zormpala, Vasos Argyrides, Constantinos Christoforou, Evridiki, Despina Olympiou, Konstantinos Zorpas, Aristos Moshovakis, Elena Solea, Katerina Kouka, Lena Alkaiou, Melina Aslanidou and many more.

Giorgos Dalaras went on stage at around 10.20pm and talked about what he saw during his journey to the stage. “I saw hundreds of people with bags of food and other items. This is the answer to the crisis, what you are doing right now and I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity, once more, to offer my presence here in Cyprus.”

“A crisis is a human action and a human action is also behind solidarity. When this happens, there is no need to be alarmed. I wish you all well and I thank you for this magical picture,” Dalaras added.

Shortly before the concert began the first lady, Andry Anastasiades, spoke with the 500 or so volunteers, congratulated them for all their hard work and wished them luck.

Thousands of people showed up for the concert, bringing tonnes of food items and basics with them

Two dead in car accident 

TWO people aged 21 and 22, died in an accident in the early hours yesterday and another 21-year-old, the driver, is in critical condition.

According to police at around 4.30am the car being driven by Panayiotis Vlachos on the Astromeriti–Evrychou road, close to the Atsas area, veered off course, hit a tree, flipped over and landed on the road.

Vlaxos and his passengers, George Chrisis, 21, and Christoforos Christoforou, 22, from Galata were trapped in the car. They were freed by members of the fire department and taken to the Nicosia general hospital where Chrisis and Christoforou were pronounced dead on arrival. Vlaxos was said to be in critical condition yesterday. 

Police traffic department chief Demetris Demetriou said it looked as if the cause of the accident was speeding but it would be investigated.

‘Red file’ to CFA over match-fixing 

EUROPEAN football’s governing body, UEFA have yet again sent out a warning to the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) about a possible case of match-fixing in the Cypriot league. 

The CFA were informed by UEFA on Wednesday afternoon that the match between Nea Salamina and Alki which took place on Sunday, April 21 had raised suspicions due to unusual betting patterns. UEFA informed the CFA they would be sending a ‘red file’ to the Federation’s headquarters. 

The CFA will hand the file, which is expected to arrive in the next few days, over to the police to investigate the case.

UEFA has sent ‘yellow’ and ‘red’ files to Cyprus in the past on games that raised suspicions, mainly due to information gathered from dubious goings-on in the football betting industry. 

A yellow file indicates that the match “could have been fixed” while red shows the game was “most probably fixed”.

Work death 

POLICE are investigating the death of a 39-year-old man who lost his life yesterday in a horrific work-related accident.

Police said the deceased, Mariano Jovenzo, was struck by an excavator at a worksite in the area of Mari.

Jovenzo, a Filipino national, was struck in the abdomen by an excavator-loader being operated by another man. He died instantly from the blow.

An autopsy will be carried out today to determine the precise cause of death – from external or internal bleeding.

The operator of the excavator, an Indian national, has been detained on suspicion of negligent manslaughter. He is to appear before a Larnaca court today where police will ask that he be remanded in custody.

Attempted murder 

POLICE ARE investigating an attempted murder which happened on Wednesday night in the village Nikitari in the Nicosia district. 

According to a police spokesman, a 30-year-old local reported to police that around 9.30pm on Wednesday as he was on his way to the home of a fellow villager aged 60, to resolve certain differences, the latter allegedly shot him with a hunting rifle, injuring him in the back of the head.

According to the victim’s statement, the weapon was removed from the scene by his assailant’s 33-year-old son. The injured man was initially taken to Evrychou medical centre before being taken to Nicosia General Hospital. He was kept overnight for observation but his condition is not considered to be critical. 

Police arrested both the father and son for questioning.

Tree warning 

THE Forestry Department said yesterday it was concerned that trees were being illegally cut down by people collecting wood for the traditional Easter bonfires.

 “Unfortunately in an effort to continue a religious custom, trees are being destroyed, often by young people who are unaware of the ecological damage they are doing,” a statement from the department said.

Carob, Eucalyptus, and Cypress trees are among those being cut down. According to forestry law, those found guilty of illegally cutting down trees could receive a fine of up to €5,000, imprisonment or both.

“We would like to call on local authorities, organised groups and sensitised people to immediately report any incident to the local forestry office or the police,” the statement said.

Firecrackers 

POLICE arrested a 37-year-old kiosk owner from the village of Emba in the Paphos district on Wednesday after finding 640 firecrackers in his possession. The 37-year-old had the firecrackers hidden in a bag under the kiosk’s counter. He was written up and released.

A CYPRIOT actor from Nicosia, Ioannis Charalambous, will be playing in the popular British period drama television series on ITV Downton Abbey in season four, which will begin in September. 

Charalambous, 27, has already had an appearance in the Christmas special at the end of season three, which aired on Christmas day, 2012 in which he played an unnamed ‘period dancer’. 

He got the part after receiving a phone call from one of his teachers at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) about an audition she thought he should attend.

 “In London it’s who you know and who you get the chance to meet. If someone in the field sees that you are simple, disciplined in what you do and have your feet on the ground, they will want to work with you again,” Charalambous said.

“I had attended an audition for Sherlock Holmes and my teacher remembered me from that and thought I should attend another audition she had in mind. I didn’t know what I was auditioning for. I just read some lines and at the end they told me it was an audition for Downton Abbey,” Charalambous added.

When on set, Charalambous was amazed by the simplicity, how everyone worked together to achieve the best result. “We would be filming for 15 hours but I didn’t feel tired at the end of it. I felt happy that I had learned so much and was honoured that I was able to work with such professionals.”

The cast of Downton Abbey include Dame Maggie Smith, Jim Carter, Hugh Bonneville and Lesley Nicol. Charalambous said Smith was a professional who was efficient and disciplined.  

After finishing his army service in Cyprus, Charalambous went to London to study marketing and advertising but his passion was always acting. “I knew I wanted to be an actor but at the time I could only imagine doing so in Greece because I had no knowledge about training for the theatre in the United Kingdom,” he said.

While going to see a play, Charalambous met with George Rodosthenous, a lecturer in music theatre at the University of Leeds. Rodosthenous advised Charalambous to contact three schools but only LAMDA’s deadline for admission was still open. After auditioning Charalambous got a recall and entered a training course. 

“I was the only foreign student there and when I asked why they accepted me as I had never studied English literature and didn’t know much about the great British playwrights like Shakespeare, I was told that it is not about what you say but about the passion and the energy you have. I had the Greek passion they said,” 

After playing in Henrik Ibsen’s Emperor and Galilean at the National Theatre for five months, Charalambous entered the Drama Centre London for a year. 

His next project is to perform an original monologue in London that has never been staged before. He is also waiting to hear back from auditions for a part on the big screen. 

From a young age Charalambous can remember being taken to the theatre by his uncle and playing in The Grammar School’s productions, where he went to school.  “It is from my teachers at school that I got my first love for the arts. I remember falling in love with Cypriot poetry and learning about our culture. I am very proud to be Cypriot and I hope to come and perform in Cyprus very soon. I am open to play anywhere. It is not about where you act but about the excitement behind the project. I had to go through a lot of rejections until I got a yes. Theatre, like any art, is a passion that you carry around with you. You can’t let anyone put you in a box or tell you not to dream.”

Ioannis Charalambous is finding fame in London

AROUND 10 per cent of recruits in the National Guard are soft-drug users according to Defence Minister Fotis Fotiou. 

Fotiou yesterday revealed the ministry’s new strategy to combat drug use in the army after it was approved by the cabinet on Wednesday.

The ministry and the Anti-Drugs Council signed a memorandum of cooperation to help prevent substance abuse by army recruits serving in the National Guard.

Fotiou outlined the ministry’s five-point-plan to combat the problem which includes the implementation of the memorandum.

 It also includes the development and promotion of the ministry and National Guard’s specialist programmes to combat drugs and the improvement of the ministry’s legal framework to introduce provisions that will discourage young people from using drugs. 

It will also see the upgrading of cooperation with the health and education ministries, and other authorities to achieve an integrated approach to tackling the problem. The minister also hoped to upgrade the advertising campaign to show young conscripts that “patriotic duty and drug use do not go together”.

“There has been an increase in drug use in Cypriot society which has had a knock-on effect to the National Guard,” Fotiou said. “We must act quickly as especially now during this financially testing period, young people could be at risk of being persuaded into taking illegal substances,” he said.

The ministry’s goal is to reduce, and possibly eliminate, the use of drugs amongst soldiers, which he said stood around one in ten. “We all have to contribute towards this direction, as our semi-occupied country needs people who are strong and durable, with principles, values and objectives,” he said.

The minister added that the Anti-Drugs Council played an important role in the efforts of the ministry and the National Guard in preventing substance abuse among new soldiers.

Fotiou said the ministry’s immediate priorities were to educate young soldiers about the dangers of drug abuse, smoking and alcohol. It also hopes to educate soldiers about healthy lifestyles and to introduce creative activities during their free time such as learning a foreign language, and first aid.

Commenting on the recent arrest of a 19-year-old soldier for growing cannabis outside a guard post in Avgorou, Fotiou said it sounded the alarm for authorities to be extra wary. Fotiou said, that authorities must show zero tolerance in these types of circumstances to protect young people from the scourge of drug abuse.

He added that the ministry was expecting the results of a survey it carried out in coordination with the National Guard Health Services and the Anti-Drug Society to reveal the extent of the problem. The results are expected in September and Fotiou hopes they will help the ministry create a preventative plan.

The defence ministry says it wants national guardsmen to live healthy lives, free of drugs, cigarettes and alcohol

A 44-YEAR-OLD anaesthesiologist and acupuncturist was yesterday acquitted of rape charges after the two main witnesses failed to convince the court.

The man had been arrested towards the end of 2011 after two female patients reported to police they had been drugged and raped by the defendant who operated in Paralimni. 

The court found the man guilty on two charges of distributing a banned medicine – Ladose antidepressants not licensed in Cyprus.

His sentence was time served – two months – while police were investigating the case.

In its 87-page decision, the court said it had judged one of the two complainants to be completely unreliable.

The woman did not offer convincing explanation why she continued to visit the doctor since, as she claimed, he had exhibited his intentions early on.

The complainant “could have stopped every contact with the defendant since she lost the weight she wanted to lose,” the court said, describing her testimony regarding the rapes as “unreal and conflicting.”

The woman also claimed that the defendant put a stimulant in her tea so that he could have sex with her and that he threatened her with a knife and a pistol.

The court questioned whether there was a need for him to threaten her when he could get her consent with the stimulant.

Her claim that she was being raped at knifepoint when in an adjacent room another patient was receiving treatment was “unreal” the court said.

The fact that she went home and slept after being raped without saying anything to anyone was also used to discredit the woman’s testimony.

The court also found gaps in the testimony given by the second complainant but did not go as far as treating her as an unreliable witness also.

Her basic weakness was that she had not been in a position to describe any rape incident and that she had not reported the case to the authorities immediately.

On top of that, she had continued to visit the 44-year-old for treatment despite, as she claimed, some sex related incidents.

The court conceded that the woman had had bad experiences at the man’s surgery and that after treatment she felt confused.

“The fact that he drugged her as part of her treatment raises reasonable suspicion that he did it so that he could sexually exploit her,” the court heard. 

However, the weaknesses in her testimony did not allow the court to find with certainty that the defendant had committed the offences he was accused of, the decision said.

Assessing the evidence, the court concluded that the defendant had been having an affair with the first complainant but the sexual intercourse was not the result of sedation or other stimulants.

The court said there had not been any sexual exploitation in the second case, judging that the woman had stopped seeing the doctor when she suspected she was being sexually abused.

The court however censured the defendant who exploited the trust shown by his patient to put her through unnecessary sedation without even informing her of the substance contained in the injections or of their usefulness.

It also described his behaviour towards the first woman as “unethical” as he gave her a large amount of drugs that caused various health problems. 

On hearing the verdict, relatives of the second woman reacted angrily saying “there’s no justice” while indicating they would take their case to European courts.

PLANS to appoint former House president Alexis Galanos interim chairman of the Bank of Cyprus (BoC) have hit a legal obstacle as such a move would be incompatible with him also being the mayor of Famagusta and chairman of the union of municipalities.

The government wants an interim board appointed as soon as possible, to oversee the stricken lender’s restructuring following a Eurogroup decision to impose hefty losses on its uninsured depositors.

Galanos agreed to take over the post but reports said a legal ruling stated it would be in conflict with him being a mayor and the head of the union of municipalities.

Reports suggested the matter was discussed in a one-hour meeting between President Nicos Anastasiades and Central Bank Governor Panicos Demetriades.

Demetriades said later that “we had a very creative meeting with the president,” as he declined to comment on whether any differences between him and Anastasiades had been ironed out.

Demetriades has been under fire over his handling of the banking crisis, which some believe had been exacerbated by his actions.

In turn, governor claimed the independence of the institution was being attacked. 

Earlier yesterday, Demetriades met with Galanos who told reporters afterwards that he was willing to take over the BoC leadership.

Galanos said it would be an honour for him to assume the BoC chairmanship.

“Personally I am optimistic for BoC. We must continue to trust our bank so that Cyprus also does well,” Galanos said.

The lender’s board and CEO had resigned and an administrator was appointed after a Eurogroup decision to impose a haircut on deposits over €100,000 to pay for the BoC’s recapitalisation.

The decision also called for winding down Laiki, Cyprus’ second biggest, with certain assets to be taken over by BoC.

The Central Bank had said that the administrator would only be in place for several days but it has now been several weeks.

Uninsured deposits in BoC – over €100,000 – currently face a €37.5 per cent cut although an additional 22.5 per cent, which have been frozen, could also suffer the same fate.

Of the remainder, the CBC has only released 10 per cent.

A SPAT has broken out between the government and main opposition AKEL over several recent appointments at the Presidential Palace, which the communist party described as cronyism.

AKEL said it had submitted a question to the finance ministry asking about the number of people that had been appointed as special advisers to President Nicos Anastasiades, their duties, and the cost.

The dispute was sparked by the appointment of three journalists – two in the past couple of weeks – as advisers to Anastasiades.

The Palace rejected the criticism, saying that the appointments did not place an extra burden on the state budget.

“The government respects parliamentary scrutiny and is ready to respond to whatever is asked of it,” government spokesman Christos Stylianides said in a statement.

Stylianides however turned the tables on AKEL, asking why the Presidential Palace had handed out over €500,000 to various individuals and entities in 14 months.

In just two months, amid the presidential election campaign, the Demetris Christofias administration issued cheques worth €241,885, Stylianides said.

In 2012 it shared out €295,800, the spokesman said, a far cry from the €29,300 paid in 2011.

“For whom and why were cheques issued just before the departure of the Christofias government, when state coffers were being handed over empty and the state was facing default,” Stylianides said.

Pro-government daily Alithia reported that over 500 cheques worth between €1,000 and €3,000 were mostly handed out to AKEL supporters and charities.

There were also cheques given to members of AKEL, trade union PEO and various organisations linked with the then ruling party.

Alithia said at least two cheques went to first division football club Omonia in January and February.

AKEL said the cheques came out of a solidarity fund set up by cabinet decision and registered as a charity. Its charter had been drafted by the state’s legal services, AKEL said.

The fund was financed by contributions made by “various individuals and companies with the aim of providing support to poor citizens of the Republic. The cheques did not burden the state coffers,” AKEL said.

On the reports that money went to clubs and other organisations, AKEL said it was a practice followed by all governments to subsidise various events.

The Christofias government responded to every event invitation extended by entities across the political spectrum, the former ruling party said.

THROUGH a tenth decree issued last night, the Central Bank further eased capital controls for transactions both within and outside the island.

Payments and money transfers (for any purpose) from one financial institution to another within Cyprus have been extended from €3000 to €10,000 monthly per individual.

Payments and transfers from one bank to another within Cyprus are now capped at €300,000 per transaction for the purchase of goods and services. Any transactions over and above this amount – again for the purchase of goods or services – is permitted provided that documentation is presented.

Payments and/or transfers within the country, for transactions falling under a bank account holder’s usual business activity, are extended to €500,000 per transaction on submission of documentation; for amounts above €500,000, approval is required from a special supervisory committee.

Money transfers abroad per individual per month (for any purpose) are extended to €5,000 from €2,000 previously.

Payments within the country via debit, credit or prepaid card are allowed. And persons travelling abroad may take with them €3000 per trip (up from €2000) or the equivalent in another currency.

Authorities imposed the controls on March 28, fearing a run on banks after Cyprus agreed a €10bn euro) international bailout that forced major depositors at its two biggest lenders to pay part of the cost of the rescue. The restrictions have starved the business world of cash.

Also yesterday the regulator issued a separate decree for banks operating on the island which are either branches of foreign institutions or at least 50 per cent subsidiaries of foreign banks.

The decree effectively lifts restrictions for non-resident account holders in foreign banks.

For subsidiaries, the parent company must furnish the Central Bank with a ‘letter of comfort’ confirming that, for the duration of the decree, the parent company shall support the liquidity of its subsidiary so that the latter is not forced to request emergency liquidity funds from either the Central Bank or the EU.

A parent company must also make arrangements to provide standby credit facility to its subsidiary at an amount equal to at least 30 per cent of its customers’ deposits.

THE ELECTRICITY Authority of Cyprus will not make an adequate surplus to cover its loan repayment obligations the House Finance Committee was told earlier this week. Its chairman Charalambos Tsouris said that the Authority would make a surplus of €34 million this year but would need €46 million for loan repayments. 

A fall in demand (in the region of 20 per cent) as a result of the recession, combined with total reductions of 13 per cent in electricity rates will reduce revenue by about €200 million, the Committee was told. The chairman of the committee Nicholas Papadopoulos said the figures were cause for alarm and described the EAC as a ‘non-viable organisation’, which could cause the collapse of the economy if it went under.

Fears may be exaggerated, but there is no denying that the EAC is in trouble and is no longer ‘a profitable semi-governmental organisation’ that must not be privatised. Now that it is expected to become loss-making, the politicians should lift their objections to its privatisation, even though it could easily return to profitability by cutting the extortionate wages and generous benefits it pays its underworked employees; it could also make a few hundred redundant. 

Of course state-owned companies and organisations do not do such things because the politicians, who have a big say in their running do not like to alienate workers. Cyprus Airways is the classic example of this policy. The taxpayer has been footing the bill for its losses for years, so that its employees would be kept happy. What is worse is that these state organisations have always been run on political rather than business lines, which is why they eventually run into problems.

If the EAC was not run by the politicians and their placemen it would now be powering its generators with natural gas and selling electricity at a much lower rate; it would also be much more profitable and cause less pollution. But political indecision, vested interests and reactionary unions have prevented the creation of the infrastructure for importing natural gas which should have been ready five years ago. And we are paying the highest electricity rates in Europe as a result.

When agreeing the bailout, the government was very proud to have put back the privatisation of SGOs by one or two years, but given the state of the EAC, the sooner this happens the better it would be for households and businesses, because it would introduce competition and push down rates. We could wait for the date agreed with the troika, in which case electricity rates would start rising again, because the government would have no money to bail out the high-maintenance Authority, as it had done Cyprus Airways on several occasions.

LEGISLATORs will on Tuesday take a crunch vote to ratify – or not – a loan agreement between international creditors and Cyprus.

The Financial Assistance Facility Agreement (FAFA) between the European Stability Mechanism on the one hand, and the Republic of Cyprus and the Cyprus Central Bank on the other, was approved by the cabinet on Wednesday. According to a legal opinion of the Attorney-general, the agreement is tantamount to an international treaty and must therefore be sanctioned by parliament.

It’s understood the FAFA and the Memorandum of Understanding on Specific Economic Policy Conditionality concluded with international lenders will be bundled into a single document as a ratification law.

The FAFA was yesterday forwarded to the House finance and foreign affairs committees, giving MPs a few days to study it before it goes before an extraordinary House plenary on Tuesday.

In an accompanying letter to the FAFA, the finance minister yesterday stressed to lawmakers that passage of the MoU is highly urgent, as on April 29 a Eurogroup working group will discuss in Brussels the implementation of the financing programme for Cyprus.

Next the Board of Governors of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) convenes on May 3 to officially approve the loan agreement and to green-light the disbursement of the first tranche. This is more or less routine, as the ESM board decided earlier this week to grant, in principle, financial assistance to the island.

Cyprus will receive aid of up to €10 billion over the next three years.  The FAFA designates March 31, 2016 as the “availability period termination date.”

Repayment of the loan will begin in ten years time and have a maximum maturity of 20 years and an average of 15 years while the interest paid will be calculated based on the funding costs of the ESM, likely to be between 2 and 3 per cent.

Cyprus will be subject to quarterly reviews of its needs and implementation of an extensive programme of policy reforms including restoring the soundness of the Cypriot banking sector, continuing the process of fiscal consolidation, and implementing structural reforms to foster competitiveness and sustainable growth.

Cyprus is expected to receive around half of the full bailout money within 2013. 

The vote in the House is likely to be a close one. Together, coalition partners DISY and DIKO have 28 out of the 56 seats, not enough to secure the required simple majority. Even assuming zero defections or no-shows from these two parties, they will need at least another vote to bring the number up to 29.

The extra vote could come from European Party head MP Demetris Syllouris; his colleague Nikos Koutsou is understood to be of the anti-troika school of thought.

AKEL’s stance is key to the outcome; matters could be complicated should they cast a ‘nay’ vote. But the communist party might opt to abstain, in which case their votes would not factor into the final count.

Under the worst-case scenario, the anti-troika camp could muster 27 votes.

Tuesday’s plenary will be an all-day session; in addition to the loan agreement, the House will be voting on the last batch of bills which Cyprus must enact into law to qualify for the rescue package.

These include an interim Immovable Property Tax, a bill on additional scaled pay cuts for the broader public sector and an item further restricting access to free health care.

As one ex-politician put it: “It would be insane for the House to have okayed all the memorandum bills but then throw out the actual memorandum and the loan deal.”

Officials have stressed that passage of the IPT in particular is a precondition set by international lenders for the first disbursement of aid money.

Yesterday’s scheduled House plenary approved the budgets of a number of semi-governmental organisations; although the operational costs of the Ports Authority and the Electricity Authority were slashed by 10 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.

A group of around 20 protesters opposed to austerity gathered outside parliament yesterday (Christos Thoedorides)

Protester holds a Cyprus flag outside the House while poster: 'We are coming and we are legion'

THE CYPRUS Telecommunications Authority (CyTA) was branded ‘silly and childish’ by rivals MTN yesterday as competition between the two in a crisis market gathered pace. 

Currently holding 34 per cent of the market share in mobile services, MTN has more than tripled its share since 2011 when it only held 11 per cent. To boost this share, MTN had recently begun a telesales campaign, randomly calling both MTN and non MTN subscribers, to offer new or additional competitive solutions, according to MTN CEO Philip van Dalsen.  

CyTA accused MTN of using private and privileged information during their telesales campaign and allegedly blocked calls to Cypriot mobile phones from Greece through MTN.

“We did not use any private or privileged information, all we did was take mobile numbers beginning with 99 and cold call them, if we got a CyTA subscriber we asked them if they were happy with their services and if we got one of our own subscribers we would inform them of our offers,” Dalsen explained. 

He added that the procedure for anyone wanting to switch their mobile number from MTN to CyTA takes two days while switching from CyTA to MTN can take up to ten days. “They are blocking their own subscribers from switching, displaying childish behaviour almost like they are not accepting they are not a monopoly any more,” Dalsen said.

He revealed that MTN had spoken with the Telecommunications Regulator in an attempt to speed-up the process to ensure the same standards apply to everyone. “We informed the regulator more than a year ago about CyTA’s actions but we are still awaiting some form of reply,” the CEO said. 

Dalsen told the press that the process was very frustrating for customers and labelled CyTA as ‘very silly’ for their unfriendly approach.

Dalsen informed the press of MTN’s new plans which include a 50 per cent reduction in mobile phone fixed charges on monthly contracts for 18 months to those who transfer their number to MTN, continuing their telesales campaign, creating a new sales channel and the company’s plans to seek and hire new sales talents.

“With our new initiatives, consumers will now have more choices which is great news for the market. In the midst of the crisis, MTN is sending a message of security, stability and solidarity with reduced fees and new job openings,” he said.  

“We are offering the best rates and plans, the most modern network and the best customer experience,” he added.

Speaking about telesales, Dalsen explained they enhance competition and, therefore push prices downward, increase choice and transparency and they transfer power from providers to customers.

He said that MTN was sending a clear message of solidarity to its employees, partners and the community. 

“Having already committed that there would be no salary reductions or reduced working hours, now MTN is ready to announce new job positions for enhancing its sales force,” Dalsen said.

“We are a lean and mean company with young, energetic staff in our attempt to meet our four main goals of having the best network, the best devices, the best promotions and the best customer care on the island,” he concluded.

PRESIDENT Nicos Anastasiades yesterday invited the shipping sector to play a leading role in the recovery of the economy.

Anastasiades was speaking at the 24th Annual General Meeting of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber in Limassol where he said the industry had not been affected overall by the banking crisis.

“The shipping sector now constitutes a crucial part of the ‘spinal column’ on which the Cyprus economy will depend in its road to recovery,” he said. Shipping contributes around 5.0 per cent to GDP.

“Foresight, proper planning and hard work are therefore virtues which are now indispensable in our mission to preserve Cyprus’ leading edge. For this precise reason the government is determined to introduce those mechanisms necessary to protect this important sector, as well as reinforce it further,” said Anastasiades.

“Under these circumstances the creation of an ‘Under-Secretary for Shipping’ position is a must,” he said, adding that a bill for the creation of such a post was submitted in parliament within the first week of the government taking office.

“We are ready and willing to proceed very speedily with the relevant parliamentary process in order for the bill to be approved within the coming weeks,” said Anastasiades.

He called on all political parties to support “this pioneering and very necessary institutional change”.

“Merchant shipping is perhaps the only sector in Cyprus that operates on a global scale and whose size and international importance go far beyond the size of Cyprus as a country. This on its own is a perfectly good reason advocating for the creation of this position,” he added.

Anastasiades said that shipping still faced the trade prohibitions imposed by Turkey on Cyprus ships calling at Turkish ports anc called for efforts to have the situation reversed.

The Cyprus registry is now classified as the 10th largest merchant fleet globally and the 3rd largest fleet in the European Union, while Limassol remains the largest third party shipmanagement centres in the bloc, and one of the largest in the world,” Anastasiades said.

“Shipping is an invaluable asset for Cyprus with significant political, economic and social advantages. Cyprus has established itself as a quality registry and with an effective implementation of the internationally applicable safety, security and environmental protection standards it has built its reputation as a respectful maritime flag and as a base for international shipping operations,” said the President.

He said Cyprus had  all the experience and potential, in terms of both material and human resources, not only to continue to offer high quality shipping services, but also to raise its position even higher as a shipping centre of exceptional importance, with a fully developed infrastructure.

President Nicos Anastasiades addresses the Cyprus Shipping Chamber's AGM in Limassol yesterday

THE EUROPEAN Commission yesterday adopted a reprogramming plan that will help promote growth in Cyprus and strengthen the impact of EU regional funds, it said. 

The decision to redirect €21 million worth of Regional Funds is intended to help the country deal with the current socio-economic crisis and ensure a quicker delivery of available investments particularly when it comes to supporting small and medium sized business and the employment of young people. 

This revision was requested by Cyprus earlier this year and has been given added political momentum in the last few weeks. The decision will see funds from lesser performing regional policy areas being redirected to where the funds are likely to have more impact for growth and jobs in the shorter term.

Commenting on the reprogramming decision, Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn said: "This decision will help Cyprus to weather this crisis and tackle its economic problems by using EU regional funds in the most effective way possible - in areas that will contribute to the countries efforts to boost growth and competitiveness, particularly that of its SMEs. We are working closely with the Cyprus authorities and are in continuous discussion on how EU regional funds can support the country's efforts to emerge from this crisis."

Some €11m worth of funds will be reallocated to build on projects for SMEs (€8.5m) and for measures to promote youth entrepreneurship (€2.5m). A further €10m will be moved to projects for the regeneration of urban and rural areas.

The decision to shift funds from one area to another is mainly due to the deterioration of socio-economic conditions in Cyprus in recent months, but it also aims to compensate for the slower progress of implementation in some areas of investment.

The main modifications are: transfer of €21m from the area "Knowledge Society and Innovation" to the areas of "Productive Environment" and "Regeneration of urban and rural areas"; promotion of promising additional projects mainly in the field of renewable energy and innovation (worth €9m) within the "Knowledge Society and Innovation" area; priority given to some Major Projects so as to include the Sewerage System of the Kokkinochoria Complex and the Vertical Road that connects the Limassol Port to the Limassol-Paphos Highway where funds could be used more quickly and effectively

"Major projects" are ones of which the total investment (VAT included) is above €50 million and thus subject to a specific decision by the European Commission, whereas other types of projects are approved at national or regional levels.

This proposal does not modify the total programme allocation, the EU contribution rate nor the annual budgetary commitments of the programme. Cyprus has been allocated more than €600 million in total cohesion policy funding from 2007-2013.

A TONNE of food and supplies donated by Cypriots living in London will be sent by ship to Cyprus next week to be distributed equally among the community markets.

Volunteers in London from the Cypriot community started collecting food and essentials to help Cypriots in need after the banking crisis three weeks ago. These contributions are being organised by the ‘Cyprus Love Campaign UK’ which is coordinated by charity organisations and individuals in Britain.

Volunteers Marina Papadopoulou and Doria Charalambous have been driving around London to collect the donations to be sent to the island. They were interviewed by the BBC earlier in the week, relating tales of extreme poverty.

 “There was this guy who fainted because he hadn’t eaten anything for two days and there were children trying to find something to eat on the floors of their schools,” Papadopoulou said referring to the feedback they had been receiving about the desperate situation in Cyprus.

“It is a very difficult situation right now, there are about 9,000 students who rely solely on the help of the church for food in Cyprus,” Charalambous said.

Cyprus Love Campaign UK and Anasa Productions, an organiser of artistic events, has organised a two-day music festival that started yesterday at 6pm and will end tonight at 11pm at Mythopolis club in London. Around 30 artists are performing for free and people who attend are asked to contribute food to be sent to Cyprus.

“We have collected lots and we are storing them in warehouses. The first shipment will leave from Portsmouth on Monday and it should arrive in Cyprus in two weeks. The next shipment will leave as soon as the first container arrives or sooner if we collect lots of goods from the music event,” Charalambous said.

All the shipping expenses will be covered by Cavenco Freight Forwarders.

Charalambous said that it was very important for awareness to be raised as many people did not understand how hard Cyprus has been hit. “We have been trying to raise awareness and collect food for three weeks and we will continue to do so as best we can,” Charalambous said.

Many tea parties and social events are being held among the Cypriot community in London and wherever Cypriots are living in the United Kingdom. During some of these events donations have also been collected.

“I do speak with my family and with my friends and there are quite a lot of families who are suffering so we have to help them,” said one Cypriot woman at an event in London.

The deputy chief of the Red Cross in Cyprus and Child Commissioner Leda Koursoumba who was also interviewed by the BBC, thanked the Cypriot community in London for their efforts. “As a Cypriot, as a deputy president of the Red Cross I want to thank them for this contribution and for these gestures and to tell them to do whatever they can to send more to Cyprus, through either the Red Cross or other charities, other organisations, they will be distributed properly to the people in need through the community markets” she said.

The two day music event at Mythopolis club is at 277 City Road, EC1V 1LA. For more information about the event call Stephanos on 00447909890634 or Ioanna on 00447742078767 or send an email to stephanos@mythopolis.co.uk or ioanna@mythopolis.co.uk 

Cyprus Love Campaign UK can be found on facebook on https://www.facebook.com/CyprusLoveCampaignUK

Volunteers sort through the donations for Cyprus

FORMER president Demetris Christofias is suing the state broadcaster claiming he had been called an ignoramus and a moron during a pre-presidential election interview with the current president.

Through the defamation suit, Christofias is asking for compensation between €100,000 and €500,000.

The papers, filed on April 17, name the state broadcaster CyBC and the head of its news department, Yiannakis Kareklas, as the alleged offenders.

The documents do not make any reference to the offending terms that prompted Christofias to sue but reports suggested it was because he had been called ignorant.

The person who first voiced the offending term during the show however was President Nicos Anastasiades.

During an interview with Kareklas on February 14, Anastasiades described Christofias and his government as “ignoramuses” for accepting a haircut on Greek debt that eventually led to the near-collapse of Cyprus’ banking system and its economy because of the large number of bonds held by Laiki and Bank of Cyprus.

It is understood that Kareklas then repeated the term, also adding the word moron, in the context of a hypothetical question.

Later in the show, Anastasiades withdrew he comment, saying it was an “unfortunate expression.”

THE Central Bank of Cyprus yesterday appointed the interim board of directors that will oversee the restructuring of the Bank of Cyprus (BoC), the island’s biggest lender.

The appointment came as the BoC announced a series of measures aimed at supporting its customers, including suspension of certain charges and reductions in interest rates.

The members of the Board of Directors are the following: Constantinos Damtsas, Lenia Georgiadou, Costas Hadjipapas, Philippos Mannaris, Sophoclis Michaelides, Lambros Papadopoulos, Andreas Persianis, Andreas Poetis, Panicos Pouros, Erol Riza, Savvas Savvides, Takis Taoushanis, George Theocharides and Michalis Zannetides.

The Chairman of the board will be elected by its members during their first meeting, scheduled for 30 April 2013.

BoC meanwhile said it was suspending certain charges for 75 days – from April 16 until June 30 – on loan arrears, current account overdrafts beyond the authorised limit, returned cheques, and authorised temporary current account limit.

The measures also apply to customers of Laiki, which has been absorbed by the BoC as part of the island’s bailout agreement with international lenders.

The lender, the island’s biggest, also announced it was reducing its basic interest rates by 0.5 per cent starting on Wednesday, May 1.

The bank’s basic rate will now be 5.25 per cent; interest on mortgage loans dropped to 3.50 per cent and business loans were fell to 4.25 per cent.

BoC also urged its clients to contact customer services to discuss the possibility of adjusting their payments in light of the economic crisis sweeping the island that may have caused them difficulties in repaying their obligations.

BUSINESSES yesterday welcomed the relaxation of capital controls, including the lifting of restrictions for non-resident account holders in foreign banks, albeit with some conditions.

Officials however warned against exploiting the new regime.

The Central Bank’s (CBC) internal audit department director Yiangos Demetriou said it was a big step in an effort to help the operation of the nearly-paralysed market.

“We must be especially careful,” he told state radio. “Our lenders had reservations about this (and) we had a hard time convincing them,” he said.

Demetriou said the island’s lenders thought that Cyprus was moving too fast in lifting the controls, in place since March 28, to prevent a run on deposits by panicked savers following a Eurogroup decision to impose losses on large depositors to pay part of the cost of the island’s rescue.

With the latest decree, Cyprus has permitted transactions up to €500,000 domestically without prior vetting.

Other provisions raised the amount individuals can transfer domestically to €10,000 a month from €3,000, and to €5,000 from €2,000 abroad.

Travellers may now take €3,000 abroad, up from €2,000. Other restrictions, such as a €300 cash withdrawal limit and a ban on cashing cheques, remained in place.

Firms, which cannot make transfers exceeding €20,000 overseas unless they are vetted by the central bank, had complained the restrictions were stifling. Russia had warned it would only restructure its loan Cyprus if its interests were protected.

Vetting will not be undertaken by the banks in a bid to speed up procedures.

A second decree effectively removed all restrictions concerning non-resident account holders in foreign banks, but it included certain conditions.

“I must stress that this decree will not be effective immediately because certain conditions must be fulfilled,” Demetriou said.

For subsidiaries, the parent company must furnish the CBC with a ‘letter of comfort’ confirming that, for the duration of the decree, it can support the liquidity of its subsidiary so that the latter is not forced to request emergency liquidity funds from either the CBC or the EU.

Parent companies must also make arrangements to provide standby credit facility to their subsidiaries at an amount equal to at least 30 per cent of its customers’ deposits.

Also, the banks’ ratio of liquid assets to total customer deposits will not be lower than 60 per cent.

Marios Demetriades, fund manager at Greek lender Piraeus Bank, said it was good development even though the conditions were strict.

“I believe it is a step in the right direction,” he said, adding that there should not be any restrictions on banks that do not face liquidity problems.

The island’s chamber of commerce welcomed the decrees.

General secretary Marios Tsiakkis said the CBC vetting committee took too long to issue its decisions, creating problems for businesses.

“But the main issue that many suppliers abroad started to dispute the credibility of businesses and our banking system,” he said of the delays.

Tsiakkis warned against exploiting the system because “I assure you the damage we will inflict will be much bigger.”

Employers’ organisation OEV said the successful abolition of more and more restrictions further consolidated the public’s trust to the Cypriot financial system.