Dear Minister,
Dear friends and colleagues,
Three years and three months ago, on 3 December 2019, when I had the honour of taking over the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, I declared that I would proceed in the same way as I had done as Mayor.
That is, with determination, dynamism and responsibility and that I would continue to faithfully adhere to the same values I had as Mayor, especially being there for the citizen.
With these principles I started leading the Ministry, since I believe that we have to serve the citizens and not the citizens us.
With these principles I started leading the Ministry, since I believe that we have to serve the citizens and not the citizens have to serve us.
First of all, I would like to thank the President of the Republic, who proposed me to become a member of his Government and to serve him from two Ministries.
Both from the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, and simultaneously for about two months, from the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, first as Deputy and then with my appointment as Minister - at an admittedly difficult time with the loss of the late Minister and friend, Zeta Aimylianidou.
Today, dear Alexis, I hand over to you the Ministry, which is built on solid foundations, with projects and investments exceeding 3.1 billion, with long-awaited projects decades in the making, with breakthroughs, with successes at the European level, with improvements in air connectivity. A Ministry that, in times of crisis such as that of Corfu, responded to the maximum extent possible and met everyone's expectations since it is known to all that it took on the responsibility of carrying out the repatriation operation.
Today the Ministry of Transport stands high in the esteem of the citizens.
I will not take stock of the term of office today, we have announced and published this. I will refer to what I consider to be the most important moment.
What will be forever etched in my memory of this term of office is, of course, the crown virus, its management and repatriations. Certainly, when I took over, no one could have foreseen that we would be facing the biggest crisis in modern history and of course the biggest in the aviation sector - the coronavirus, during which I issued an order banning flights to Cyprus.
Subsequently, and by decision of the Council of Ministers, I took over the responsibility of conducting the repatriation operation through chartered flights.
We were transferred to the Search and Rescue Centre (RRC) at the Zenon Centre in Larnaca, which falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport. We prepared call centres, we contacted each one who had to be repatriated, we chartered flights, we transported them to Cyprus, upon arrival we arranged transportation to quarantine sites, and at the end of the quarantine, we arranged transportation to their homes.
The repatriation operation was a success and everyone contributed to it: the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the State Ministry of Tourism, services such as the Civil Defence, the Civil Aviation, the Airport Police, the Road Transport Department, the Civil Aviation, the Civil Aviation, the staff of the KPSED, and many volunteers.
Specifically, 12,111 citizens were repatriated by us through 126 flights from March 16 to June 11. We also undertook the operation of transporting medical supplies and consumables from China. I will never forget when I asked for volunteers and we appealed to the Civil Defence for the preparation of the call centre, that within a few hours the Zenon Centre was packed with its members.
One of the terms of my mandate from the President of the Republic was the implementation of long-awaited and important projects announced by him. And today I can look him in the eye, as well as the citizens, and tell them that all the long-awaited projects that local communities have been demanding for decades are under construction.
Some of the most important projects under construction today are the new Cyprus Museum, the Astromeritis-Eurichos, Paleochoriu-Lefkosia, Polis-Pafos, the Nicosia Perimetric, and the Limassol-Saitta highways.
Some of the most important projects under construction today are the new Cyprus Museum, the Astromeritis-Eurichos, Paleochoriu-Lefkosia, Polis-Pafos, the Nicosia Perimeter, and the Limassol-Saitta highways. At the same time, the Ippokratous and Argyroupoleos avenues are under construction, as well as the upgrading of the Larnaca - Dhekelia and Sotiras - Deryneia road networks. At the same time, we are implementing the photoluminescence system and the largest investment in the country today, amounting to 1.2 billion, the development of Larnaca port and marina. (Socrates Zapitis, Antonis Koutsoullis, Eleni Kaskiri at the TDE, Panagiota Demetriou of the Civil Aviation, Eleni Pipi of the TOM, Markos Markou of the EMY, Marina Ieronymidou of the Department of Antiquities and Sofronis Tsiartas and Pavlos Pavlidis of the Post Office, the Director of Control Agathi Christou, the Director of the Public Passenger Transport Directorate Andreas Nikiforou and the Head of the Road Safety Unit Elpida Epaminondas.
If it is judged by the citizens that this march was a success it will not be because of Minister Karousos but because of the staff. No political boss can implement his vision if he does not have the manpower to support him. Please know that for me all of you are now members of my family.
But I would especially like to thank my three colleagues, Christos Papamichael, Antonios Minidis, and Kostas Michael as well as the Director of my Office Neophytos Neophytou, whom, after what we have been through, I consider my brothers and sisters. Christos, I have to say publicly that we would not have succeeded in the repatriation operation without you, I will never forget what we went through, maybe one day I will write it down in a book and it will be worth it one day for the citizens to know all the details. Also, it is at your suggestion that I went ahead with the implementation of smart lights.
Anthony, we would not have succeeded in reducing road fatalities , without your input. You organized, took the initiative and prepared every detail for everything. Costas, the restoration of so many ancient monuments would not have gone ahead, nor electrification and the adoption of its policy framework, nor the cycling action plan without your initiatives.
Neophyte, you are the main reason for our successes in the European Councils with your methodicalness and your preparation especially for the declaration on air connectivity. Thank you for the proposal which was embraced by the EU. As I told you, I recommended you to come as Director of my Office because during the lockdown, when you could have been at home, you came to the Office and took over the business of transporting medical supplies from China on chartered flights. All four of you were workaholics, no matter the hours, and I now consider you my brothers and sisters.
I was also lucky because I had an honest and hard-working man by my side as General Manager, Stavros Michael, and I thank him. Just to tell you that even on the night of the Resurrection he was there with me at the KSEED, he waited until even the last repatriate came and then went home. As well as also thank the current Deputy Director John Nicolaides a man also honest, honest and hardworking.
Thanks also to the ladies of my Office, Rita, Kika and Troodia and the former Director of my Office, Niki Santama as well as Adonis Taliadoros, Margarita Kyriakou and Theodoros Georgiades, the communication managers of the Office as well as Antonis Ioannou and Evangelos Panayiotou, who withstood the pressure I put on them.
But I will never forget our road safety volunteers, as well as the road safety ambassadors, but especially the motorcyclists' associations, whom I would like to thank. You can be sure that we will keep in touch and on your next tour I may be with you wearing, of course, the motorcyclist airbag that we have promoted in recent years. In 2022 Cyprus recorded the lowest number of road fatalities we have ever had (37) and you were one of the reasons.
Because I never forget, the former Minister and former Ministers also played a key role as they also played their part in what we are delivering today. We must not forget our predecessors so I thank Vasiliki Anastasiadou and Mario Demetriades.
In closing, I want to thank those I have wronged and neglected to serve the country, my family, my wife Maria and my two children Eleanna and George. They have always been by my side, my support, they have had a hard time and now it is time to devote more time to them because they deserve it.
Dear Alexis,
On your desk, I left you a letter with what I consider to be the most important issues that you will be called upon to address immediately, with my suggestions and my views.
I have no doubt that you will proceed in the public interest.
I have no doubt that you will proceed in the public interest. I wish you in all the battles you will face to defend it and always win.
I hand over the Ministry to you higher than when I took it over and I wish you to hand it over to the next one even higher. I will be by your side in whatever you need!
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