A proposal for a revised plan regulating the assignment of Turkish Cypriot properties to refugees will be submitted to the parliament soon following persistent complaints that many of what have become lucrative commercial properties end up being run by well-connected millionaires.
The issue was discussed at an extraordinary session of the House refugee committee on Wednesday which focused on the management of Turkish Cypriot properties and the concessions of commercial areas and residences by the Guardian of Turkish Cypriot properties service in Paphos.
Prior to the committee, the director of the department George Matthiopoulos spoke of “irregularities and bribes” in the assignment of Turkish Cypriot properties in Paphos, adding that he has received complaints that some of them ended up being leased to well-known millionaires.
Matthiopoulos also said the matter will be further investigated by the Audit Office, although he did not provide a timeline for the outcome of the findings.
“The management of these properties is not based on merit and unnecessarily bureaucratic,” said the deputy chairman of committee Christos Christofides.
He added that the properties are handed out as favours within political parties or to serve economic interests, claiming the 2016 set of rules regulating Turkish Cypriot properties are being systematically violated.
“We will investigate this matter very carefully,” Christofides said. “It is not possible for thousands of refugees to be wronged in favour of political gains and partisan interests. We will wait for the results of the Audit Office investigation before deciding how to proceed.”
Commenting on the issue after the committee, Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos also said the procedures used to assign the properties were not correct.
Phedonos suggested that the properties be distributed to people following a specific draw excluding people who do not meet the criteria to qualify as refugees or persons in need.
“Sometimes the assignments [OF PROPERTIES] are leaked before even being discussed,” the mayor said.
Moreover, he said that the total value of the Turkish Cypriot properties amounts to €15 billion, based on calculations carried out by the land registry, adding, however, that “the management of such valuable assets is completely unclear” and calling for new procedures and criteria to be followed.
“At the moment, there is no cooperation whatsoever with Interior Minister Nicos Nouris regarding the management of the properties,” said Phedonos.
“This was not happening with his predecessors Socrates Hasikos and Constantinos Petrides. I want to urge the interior minister to act now and restore order in the delicate matter.”
However, the secretary of the small shop owners’ association (Povek) Kyriacos Moustakas said that he is involved in the advisory committees tasked with assigning the properties and that he noted no irregularities.
“For us, the beneficiaries are the refugees,” he said.
The representative of the Pancyprian Refugee Committee (PRC), Christos Nicolaou, said that there must be equality in the division of Turkish Cypriot properties and also recommended that an investigation be conducted by the auditor-general.
During the committee, Akel MP Valentinos Fakontis spoke of “political interference and threats” within an “anachronistic legal framework in need of revision”.
Diko MP Christos Senekis stressed that the most crucial step involves updating the properties’ assignment procedures, claiming that, at the moment, “too many political interests are served”.
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Mail
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Mail
Source
