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Presentation of the social support network of the "BuildingZO" Plan
The decision to provide additional financial and other assistance to beneficiaries of the "BuildingZO" Plan, who have special needs and meet specific criteria of socio-economic vulnerability, was announced today by the Minister of Interior Mr. Constantinos Ioannou, during a press conference for the presentation of the social support network of the "BuildingZO" Plan.
The press conference was attended by the Holy Archdiocese of Cyprus, the SupportCY Network, the non-profit organization TechIsland, the Bank of Cyprus and the Roof Financing Organization. Present at the conference were the Director General of the Ministry of Interior Dr. Kostas Constantinou, the Director and Officers of the Department of Urban Planning and Zoning, Mayors from the affected municipalities, the President and members of the Refugee Committee of the Parliament and representatives of the Pancyprian Refugee Association and the National Fund for Refugees.
"The creation of the social network supporting the "BuildingZO" project fills us with optimism and pride. It gives us strength to face the obstacles we will face and allows us to look with optimism to the next day," the Interior Minister said in his initial statement. He expressed confidence that the Government's effort to provide a definitive solution to the long-standing problem of squatter settlements in government-run IDP settlements will be embraced by more agencies and organizations, sending hopeful messages for a society of solidarity and a better country.
Thanking again the companies and organizations that have already contracted with the "BuildingZO" Project and form the social support network, Mr. Ioannou stressed the importance of offering both money and goods, services and volunteers. He noted that the announcement of other companies that have already expressed interest to contribute is expected in the near future. "Our goal is through this social network to help as we have promised from day one as a Ministry and as organizations," he said. He also reiterated the Ministry's readiness to "stand by our compatriots throughout this journey because we understand the difficulties. That is why we will be by their side, together with the Refugee Committee, together with the other members and other organizations that support us, to help throughout this process."
Conveying the message of Archbishop of Cyprus Mr. Michael Spyrou, Director of the Archbishop's Private Office, said that the Church of Cyprus "understands very well the unbearable pain of refugees and the terrible drama that our refugees have endured for 49 years with patience and heroism. We know their anxieties, worries and problems and we share them. It is indeed sad to become a refugee in your own country. As Archbishop George notes in his message, many of today's elderly refugees, in the days of the coup and the Turkish invasion, were at the beginning of their families and lost everything overnight. "For this reason, the Church and I personally commend every move by the State that aims to improve the living conditions of our displaced people, to whom we owe every support," it said. Therefore, the Holy Archdiocese of Cyprus will contribute the amount of €100,000 for the financial support of the "BuildingZO" Project.
In his greeting, the member of the Board of Directors of the Non-Profit Organization TechIsland Mr. Alexey Gubarev expressed the pride of the Organization to participate in the "BuildingZO" Project, thus contributing to building safe houses for the displaced people, so that they can continue their lives. As a Non-Profit Organization, TechIsland believes in supporting projects and initiatives that have a long-term positive impact on society. Since its inception in 2021, TechIsland has supported a variety of causes consistent with its mission and the shared belief that the essential role of technology is to provide solutions to problems and improve people's lives. "As an organisation, we are committed to promoting social change and we are proud to help shape a better tomorrow for Cyprus," Gubarev added. It should be noted that the member companies that have contributed to the Building ZO Project on behalf of TechIsland are Exness, My Games, Target Global, The Island School, IT Quarter and InDrive. Christoforos Kaplanis, welcoming the Government's effort to provide assistance to our fellow citizens living in dangerous apartment buildings, said that the Housing Finance Corporation considers itself as a partner of the "BuildingZO" project. We believe, he continued, that "this is another opportunity for the Agency to continue to fulfill its mission, which is also defined by law and is primarily to finance housing needs, primarily for low- and moderate-income persons." According to Kaplanis, the Agency, as a financial institution, should ensure that the solutions it offers fall within the framework of both the law governing its operations and the supervisory guidelines. In this context, he stressed, "understanding the specificity of this particular category of our fellow citizens and the specific needs we have now, the Agency will formulate the necessary procedures to facilitate the whole effort to make the best and fastest service of the needs of these fellow citizens."
In his statement, Mr. Theodosis Theodosiou, Director of Retail Banking Division of Bank of Cyprus noted that "Bank of Cyprus, as the largest financial institution in Cyprus, could not be absent from this effort and not support the efforts of the Ministry of Interior and the Government for the smoothest possible transition of the beneficiaries of the program back to their new homes. The Bank of Cyprus' long-standing ties with civil society and its contribution are inextricably linked to the modern history of Cyprus." Therefore, Theodosiou noted, contributing to social support, "our aim is for our beneficiary compatriots to obtain a better and decent home through the government's projects. So today Bank of Cyprus stands by this people who have suffered so much and of course those affected by this need created for the construction of new safer apartment buildings. That is why and in this context we have created a special plan with long-term loans, with favourable conditions, to enable the beneficiaries to cover the part of the own contribution required in addition to the Ministry's assistance. We are confident of the success of the scheme and wish it every success."
For her part, speaking on behalf of the SupportCYNetwork, Bank of Cyprus Corporate Social Responsibility Manager and Head of SupportCY Ms. Elli Ioannidou stressed that, as the largest socio-economic partnership in our country and true to its philosophy, the SupportCY Network will support society in every possible way and will stand by the Ministry of Interior and the important "BuildingZO" programme. As Ms Ioannidou stated, "SupportCY Network puts at the disposal of the Ministry its volunteer corps and our available vehicles both in Nicosia and Limassol. Our 60 volunteers are ready to assist in the process of moving people from their homes to their temporary residences and vice versa. In addition and always within the framework and procedures of SupportCY, once a new need is identified by the Ministry of Interior, an effort will be made to cover it altogether in cooperation with the businesses and organizations members of our Network. This assistance can be in products as well as in services". He also said that all members of the Network have already been contacted and several of them have expressed their readiness to support the BuildingZO programme through structured and coordinated actions both in the short and long term. "We are and will continue to be in constant open communication with the Ministry of Interior for support until the completion of the programme and the return of all beneficiaries to their new homes," Ms Ioannidou said.
Subsequently, the Minister of Interior answered questions from journalists. In particular, when asked about this, Mr Ioannou reiterated that the implementation of the 'BuildingZO' plan will be completed within a 10-year timeframe. He noted that in the first phase there are 43 blocks of flats, of which 20 are in immediate danger (18 in Nicosia District and 2 in Limassol District). As the Minister of Interior explained, a great effort has been made in the last three weeks to personally inform all beneficiaries living in these 20 blocks of flats about the provisions of the Plan, and in the next few days information will be provided to the other 23 blocks of flats. "The Plan is dynamic and from day one we have said that the Plan is subject to improvement. For example, last week we announced a €200 increase in the rent subsidy for the Limassol District, realising the problem that exists in the District, and other improvements have been made," the Minister said. In this context, he said, updates are being carried out in each individual district and the social support network has been created, in order to support this great effort. Ioannou said that following the recommendation of both the Chairman and the members of the Refugee Committee, contact had been made with the Institution and it had been determined that legislation was needed to allow the Institution to provide a loan. Therefore, due to time constraints, it is not possible to legislate, however, beneficiaries can apply for an interest rate subsidy from the Institution, as its normal practice.
Then, in response to a reporter's question regarding the principle of subsidiarity that will apply, the Minister explained that any assistance that will be granted is aimed at reducing the suffering of the affected citizens as much as possible. With regard to the sums of money that have been and/or will subsequently be granted - currently amounting to €500,000 and another €500,000 is expected to be granted - the Home Affairs Minister explained that "they will be put into a special account and will be used to help people on the basis of socio-economic criteria that we have set". The criteria include serious health problems, age, economic factors, family situation and whether there is a possibility of help from the family environment, etc. With their contribution, these organisations will contribute on behalf of these beneficiaries. Giving some examples, Mr. Ioannou said that priority will be given and cases will be assisted, which demonstrably and after verification appear to be low-income, recipients of the EHIC, with serious health problems or even persons who are war victims without family or other assistance, etc. He stressed that assistance "will be provided on merit. We have visited all the departments and based on the criteria, these cases have been identified and we will contact these people." He added, finally, that if we become aware of other cases that have escaped us at the initial stage, we will find a way to cover them.
Finally, Mr. Ioannou welcomed the suggestions of the Mayor of Aglantzia Mr. Andreas Constantinou for contacting the Cyprus Electricity Authority to facilitate the repayment of the electricity bill by removing the fees to the Municipalities for the residents of Aglantzia who will participate in the "BuildingZO" Project. The Minister said that with these actions the Local Authorities are performing their mission to the fullest extent, which is none other than to stand by the citizens and support them in every possible way. He expressed confidence that the other affected municipalities will evaluate all the proposals and find ways to offer maximum assistance to their citizens.
(MKυ)
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