The Plenum of the Parliament unanimously passed the 2022 Budgets into law, of the Cyprus Transmission System Operator, the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority and by a majority (27 in favour, 11 against) of the Cyprus Gaming and Casino Supervision Authority and by 34 votes in favour and 2 against the Council for the Registration and Control of Building and Technical Contractors.
With 19 votes in favour and 17 against, the plenary session of the House of Representatives passed an amendment by AKEL, which committed the budget for the remuneration of the members and President of the Council of Registration and Control of Contractors of Building and Technical Works as a form of pressure to investigate the SAPA scandal, according to party MP Andros Kavkalias.
The budget of the Cyprus Gaming and Casino Supervision Authority Fund is €2,896,290. AKEL Parliamentary Representative Giorgos Loukaidis said that his party voted against the budget because families have been destroyed due to gambling and casinos, with the problem taking on social dimensions.
As stated in the report of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, the Authority's budget is in surplus and provides for expenditure of €2,896,290 and revenue of €3,000,000, which will come exclusively from state sponsorship. The report further stated that during the budget debate it was mentioned that the casino-resort is expected to be operational by the end of October 2022, within the timeframes decided by the Council of Ministers, and that multiple benefits are expected from its operation both for the tourism sector and the economy in general.
Based on the Commission's Report, PAEK's budget is in deficit and forecasts total expenditure of €3,168,820 and revenue of €2,412,649, which will mainly come from the imposition of annual fees for the licensing of electricity generation plants, from licensing for the supply of electricity and from European programmes and other annual fees imposed on electricity and gas market participants. The estimated deficit will be covered on the basis of the data submitted from the cash reserves of the RAEK. According to the filed data, RAEK's total expenses for 2022 are reduced by 10.48% compared to the corresponding expenses for the previous year
In the context of the discussion before the Finance Committee, the Chairman of RAEK's Board of Directors outlined the strategic plan for the period 2022-2024 and the Authority's objectives, which include, inter alia, the development of a regulatory framework for the energy transition, such as the Green Deal and the adaptation to the European Union's plan's target for reducing the The total expenditure for 2022 shows an increase of €3,426,000 compared to last year's expenditure.
As stated in the Finance Committee Report, the Executive Director of the Trustee indicated that the TSO is going through the most critical period since its establishment, as it has to both complete its independence from AEC and at the same time complete the ambitious task of fully operating AEC on the basis of a model compatible with the European Union's target model.
The budget of the Council for the Registration and Control of Construction and Technical Contractors (CECC) foresees total expenditure of €1,015,508 and revenue of €913.070, which is expected to come mainly from the issuance of annual licences to registered contractors (€540,000), examination of applications (€115,000) and registration in the Register of Contractors (€50,000).
The budget is in deficit by €102.438 and, according to the information submitted to the Commission, the cash deficit will be covered by the Council's reserve, which, based on the projected cash position on 31 December 2022, is expected to amount to €1,497,562.
The Finance Committee report stated that it had asked to be informed of the disciplinary cases relating to contractors and the Paphos Sewerage Board (PBC) and the timetable for the conclusion of these disciplinary cases, adding that in this regard, the Chair of the PBC board stated that the board had proceeded to take legal advice as to how to handle the matter further and that a process was underway to appoint a legal adviser who would have the e It was noted that the committee was briefed on further details surrounding the matter in closed session.
Source: CNA
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