Explanations from the Finance Minister will be sought by the Parliamentary Energy Committee, Trade and Industry following complaints from entertainment and event organisers that despite promises, they received little to cover the damage they suffered during the pandemic.
Tuesday's committee meeting was attended by the Pancyprian Association of Entertainment Centres, the Association of Technical Support for Events and the Pancyprian Association of Exhibition Organisers.
As stated by President of the Pancyprian Association of Entertainment Centres Nikos Vassiliou these businesses are demanding[/B] a sum of around 2 to 2.5 million for the damages they have suffered. Of this 30-40 % is for the salaries of the employees and the rest is for running costs and rent to keep the businesses alive. He added that the losses of the industries exceed 15-20 million[/B] but what they are the minimum to which they are entitled and which the Finance Minister had announced and did not keep his promise.
He told the Commission that of the 62 weeks that their businesses were closed there were 32 weeks that they were not compensated and they received a total of 617 thousand euros. He also noted that many of the businesses were already on their knees and that an entrepreneur was put in jail for three months because he could not pay the social security of his employees in 2021 due to zero income. It referred to mockery and ridicule.
On behalf of the Ministry of Finance, the Commission was told that eligible companies that met the criteria received their support and in cases that did not receive it, this is being examined on a case-by-case basis. He added that there is no more room for promoting projects related to the effects of the pandemic due to the situation with the effects of the war in Ukraine.
When asked by the President of the Committee Kyriakos Hatzigiannis whether a meeting was held with the Ministry of Finance, as requested by the Parliament, it was reported that no meeting was held, while Mr. Vasileiou said that in the Ministry of Finance, they refuse to see them. The Chairman of the Committee said that the Minister of Finance himself will be invited to the next meeting of the Committee[/B]
In a statement after the end of the Committee, its Chairman and DISY MP Kyriakos Hatzigiannis said that while there was a calculation mutually agreed upon then there was not that response so that the aid would cover the agreed amount. He also expressed regret that the ministries involved did not consult with those affected to find a solution.
AKEL MP Kostas Kostas[/B] spoke of a cry of despair from the sector that has been irreparably affected by the pandemic. He said that the owners of entertainment centres were still waiting for the compensatory payments owed to them by the state. What is worse, he added, is that thespokesman for the Ministry of Finance made it clear that the government, which did not consult with the parties involved, will not give any additional financial support, negating its agreement with the owners of the entertainment centres. He appealed to the government[/B] to change the decision and support the leisure centre sector.
The EPP MP Elias Mirianthous said that in the last two years of the pandemic this sector had suffered a total devastation and the compensation received was not as expected as the initial announcements of the Ministry of Finance and that there was a big discrepancy in the matter. He said that it was incumbent upon the Government to immediately pay the remaining amount as was the original promise of the State to these companies and there should be exhortations from the Ministry of Finance, the Government and the Central Bank to stop the banks from divesting or bankrupting these companies.
Boulider of the DIPA Michael Yakoomi called on the government not only to immediately implement what it has agreed with these professionals, but also to provide additional support in order to give it the time for a more integrated planning that will address the problem in its entirety. He asked the government to include the amount of 1,500,000 euros for compensatory damages to this sector and another 1,000,000 for the events and exhibitions sectors, which are an integral part of our tourism product, in order to save businesses and a large number of jobs.
Source: KYPE
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