The Parliamentary Committee on Refugees requested on Monday that the electrical installations of all the houses in the Makarios III neighbourhood in Kamares be examined, in Larnaca, after a spot check revealed serious problems concerning the safety and health of residents, according to the committee's chairman, Nikos Ketteros.
The Committee continued the discussion on the problems in the electrical installations of the refugee settlements, particularly in the "Makarios C" settlement and the need to upgrade them.
In statements after the meeting, Kettiros said that a study by the Electromechanical Service confirmed "everything we have been complaining about in recent months regarding the electrical installations in the government settlements."
The study, he added, which was carried out on a sample of a number of houses in the Makarios settlement in Kamares, Larnaca, "showed the extent of the problem and the danger that exists."
He said that in 15 per cent of cases, it appeared that the general switch for cutting off the supply in cases of loss did not work at all. "It is typical of the suggestion on the part of the ETEK that this particular fault is equivalent to driving a car without brakes," he added.
Kettiros said that "human lives are at risk" and that the Commission requested that the requirement to examine the entire Settlement be conveyed to the Minister of Interior since the issue concerns the safety and health of the residents.
DIKO MP Christos Seneces said that the issue of outdated and dangerous electrical installations in the refugee settlements and in particular in the Makarios III settlement in Larnaca was discussed for the third time.
"We have been informed that a spot check has been carried out in 18 houses in the settlement and the results are extremely worrying while the electrical installations in three of them pose an immediate risk to the safety of the residents," he added.
He said it is unthinkable that the issue of citizen safety should be raised and the relevant state authorities "and more specifically the AEC and the Department of Town and Country Planning, invoke either cost or ownership as excuses for not addressing the problem immediately and comprehensively".
Delayed demolition of refugee apartment buildings
Kettiros also said they also discussed thedelayed demolition of eight apartment buildings in the government-owned settlement of Agioi Anargyroi A.
"For 10 years the state has allowed eight apartment buildings to become a source of pollution, rodents and delinquent congregations creating suffocating, dangerous and intimidating conditions for the residents of the area," he added. Kettiros said that the representatives of the Planning Department said that in the coming period the procedures for the construction of the new apartment buildings will begin, so that the remaining residents can be relocated and the demolition procedures can proceed immediately. He recalled that "this has been promised for 10 years" and added that in the medium term they asked for an increase in policing "at least in the area for the safety of the residents."
He also said that they examined the issue of the delay in granting the remaining beneficiaries of self-housing plots for the transfer from the Mammari II self-housing settlement to the Kokkinotrimithia self-housing settlement.
"We had been informed that the process would be completed last October, 2021, but there was no information to the beneficiaries," said Kettiros, adding that today, after several pressures, the officials have committed that these transfers, these plots will be granted within June.
"In July, we will be here to reassess their schedules," he concluded.
Source: CNA
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