Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 99-06-17

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cynews.com/>

Thursday, June 17, 1999

CONTENTS

[01] Auditor berates semi-government waste

[02] Cyprus at the forefront of fight against nuclear smuggling

[03] Government seeks way to deal with Black Sea Greek 'ghetto'

[04] Hercus warns Rolandis on MSL incidents

[05] Man jailed for raping daughter

[06] Fifth man held over 'tarmac scam'

[07] Anyone for a beer?

[08] UK Cypriot held in London after 100kg heroin sweep

[09] Cyprus hopes to take missing issue to European Parliament

[01] Auditor berates semi-government waste

THE AUDITOR-general's annual check on the books of semi-governmental organisations has, as usual, thrown up ample evidence of inefficiency, squander of taxpayers' money, and questionable tender procedures.

The Electricity Authority (EAC) and Telecommunications Authority (CyTA) are shown up in a particularly bad light by Christalla Yiorkadji's 1998 reports, released yesterday.

The report on the EAC cites many instances of overspending. The repair and maintenance of storage tanks at the Moni power station, for example, was budgeted to cost £42,990 for a six-week project. The job, contracted out to a Famagusta firm, has so far cost the EAC almost ten times that (£414,254) and is expected to take a total of three years to complete.

Spending on the new Vassiliko power station is £4 million over-budget so far and work is well behind schedule, Yiorkadji notes.

A plan for subsidising electricity supply for rural users cost £568,000 more than budgeted. Yiorkadji says that town dwellers with country homes have abused the subsidy system by getting village mukhtars to certify that they live in the country on a permanent basis.

Tender procedures at the EAC come in for much criticism -- as they do for other semi-governmental organisations.

The contract to dig ditches for power cables in Nicosia was awarded to the firm which submitted the second lowest tender - even though the cheapest tender met all the requirements, Yiorkadji states. The job has so far cost the EAC almost three times the budgeted £180,000. This particular case is the subject of an investigation by Attorney-general Alecos Markides.

The authority spent a total of just over £1.2 million on overtime pay. Eleven high-ranking employees were paid an average of £3,500 in overtime each over the year, the State Auditor finds.

The EAC's overall financial balance shows a surplus of over £35 million for 1998, while £17.5 million of its £97.9 million state-approved development budget remained unspent.

CyTA comes in for criticism for wasting money on technology which becomes obsolete before it is brought into use. The authority currently has £14.8 million's worth of equipment in storage. "With the passage of time much of the stored equipment becomes obsolete due to technological advances," Yiorkadji notes.

Poor planning when deciding to introduce new telephone cards has meant the EAC has been left with half a million obsolete telecards on its hands.

The authority also spent a "high" amount (£2 million) on overtime pay in 1998, the Auditor-general notes.

CyTA had a surplus of £49.9 million last year, while £12 million of its £58 million state development budget for the year remained unspent.

Tender procedures are again the problem when it comes to the finances of the Sports Authority (Koa). A number of tender procedures have been referred to the Attorney-general for investigation.

Yiorkadji's report also states that a total of £115,000 in state funding is unaccounted for by Koa.

"Problematic," is the word Yiorkadji chooses to describe the finances of State broadcaster CyBC.

The corporation's losses were reduced to £100,000 in 1998, compared to £3.3 million in 1997. The total deficit on the state-approved budget was £18.8 million.

Sales for the CyBC lottery, a significant source of revenue for the ailing corporation, dropped by almost 20 per cent last year, Yiorkadji's report states.

The Milk Marketing Board showed a surplus of £285,000 while destroying £382, 000's worth of milk (2.1 million litres).

The Olive Products Marketing Board was the only semi-governmental body to show a deficit (of £37,000) in 1998. The board consistently bought more olive-oil containers that it ever used, Yiorkadji notes.

Revenue from potato exports rose to £28 million in 1998, compared to £11 million in 1997, Yiorkadji's report on the Potato Marketing Board states. The Auditor-general criticises the board's practice of providing huge quantities of potatoes to foreign dealers without advance payment or written contracts guaranteeing payment. Last year, this practice cost the board £275,000 when a UK dealer failed to pay up.

Thursday, June 17, 1999

[02] Cyprus at the forefront of fight against nuclear smuggling

CYPRUS has installed state-of-the-art equipment in an attempt to prevent the island being used as a stop-off point to smuggle weapons of mass destruction around the globe.

"The United States responded to a demand by the Cyprus government to supply it with high-tech equipment to detect drugs, weapons, prohibited goods and substances as well as nuclear material," Government spokesman Costas Serezis said yesterday.

He said the machines were installed as part of an international effort to clamp down on the movement of prohibitive substances and materials.

"The European Union considers our policy on this issue as very positive," said Serezis.

According to local press reports, the government installed the equipment after the US raised concerns about the island's unwitting role in the smuggling of nuclear and chemical materials to "unfriendly" states for the production of destructive weapons.

America is said to consider Cyprus as a major world transit point in the highly lucrative trade of smuggling nuclear materials, which is why the US- made machines have been installed at Larnaca airport and Limassol port.

Customs officers are now being trained by American experts on how effectively to use the scanning equipment.

Alarm bells were raised last year when a nuclear reactor was impounded at Larnaca airport, believed destined for Iran from Ukraine.

The container is still thought to be under armed guard at the airport.

It is understood the newly-installed scanning machines are able to detect biological weapons, as well as nuclear and radioactive materials.

Thursday, June 17, 1999

[03] Government seeks way to deal with Black Sea Greek 'ghetto'

AMIDST growing friction between Cypriots and Black Sea Greeks, the government has warned those who commit crime that they will be sent packing.

Interior Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou told Phileleftherosyesterday that any "Russian Greeks who break the law will no longer be welcomed in Cyprus."

Christodoulou will discuss tough new immigration measures when a ministerial committee appointed to handle Russian Greek issues meets next week.

According to informed sources, the government is unhappy about the "indiscriminate" way in which Greece issues passports to its ethnic kin from the Black Sea region.

Justice Minister Nicos Koshis is also reported as saying that action needs to be taken "before things get out of control", if Paphos is not to become a Russian Greek ghetto.

Thousands of Russians, Ukrainians and Georgians of Greek origin were issued Greek passports after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 and therefore have no difficulty entering Cyprus. More importantly, they have the right to work on the island.

But their status may change if the government decides to act tough in the light of growing public resentment.

They started arriving in 1993 and now some 7,000 are estimated to be living on the island, making them one of largest non-Cypriot communities.

But a number of violent confrontations between rival groups of Ukrainian and Georgian Greeks in Paphos and repeated bad press over their alleged involvement in drugs and prostitution has seen the community acquire the tag of "undesirables".

The vast majority of Russian Greeks are concentrated in apartment blocks on two of Paphos' main thoroughfares.

Paphos mayor Feidias Sarikas is so concerned about the settlement of 5,000 Russian Greeks in such a small area of a town with a population of 22,000 that he's called for emergency state measures to disperse the "ghetto" community.

"Due to their concentration in two specific housing areas, problems are exacerbated, resulting in local residents beginning to react," Sarikas said.

Thursday, June 17, 1999

[04] Hercus warns Rolandis on MSL incidents

COMMERCE Minister Nicos Rolandis yesterday met with Unficyp Chief of Mission Dame Ann Hercus to discuss the problem of Turkish forces shooting at excursion boats and fishing vessels from the Republic that cross into occupation coastal waters.

"Hercus simply wanted us to know that there is a potential problem... regarding the boats that are used in the Protaras area... northbound... for the entertainment of tourists or by fishermen," Rolandis told the Cyprus Mailyesterday.

"The problem is that you have the Turkish forces on the other side, which have started shooting on a number of occasions" at boats from that cross the Maritime Security Line (MSL) on the eastern side of Cyprus, Rolandis said.

"At the moment, we have more than 150 boats per week crossing what the UN considers a danger line," Rolandis said, adding: "there are many more excursion boats than fishing boats... and the number of these boats is increasing rapidly. This year we had probably five or six times more boats than last year in the same period."

"There have been some minor incidents," Rolandis said, and Hercus "fears that the situation may deteriorate."

Indeed, Unficyp noted yesterday there had been a "significant increase of crossings of the Maritime Security Line, both by fishing boats and pleasure boats" this year.

Unficyp said that "in September 1998, one of the crossings from south to north was answered by gunfire (and) this month, there has been another such incident." Unficyp declined to say when the June 1999 incident occurred or what was involved.

Rolandis said that Hercus "discussed (the problem) in a practical manner," neither ringing alarm bells nor "suggesting anything."

"She was concerned and she wanted to alert us, to let us know that unless some measures were taken to avoid this kind of encounter, there may be problems with the other side."

"As the Minister of Tourism, this is our concern," Rolandis said, adding that, "because of the possible ramifications of this, after we study this in the ministry, we shall let the Council of Ministers know about this."

To avoid such problems, Unficyp earlier this year sought to improve awareness of the MSL, an imaginary line marking the 3,000-metre seaward extension of the Green Line.

Since the MSL cannot be fenced off at sea, the "line" is marked on the coastline by a danger marker that is aligned with "Danger, Stay Clear" flags on the top of the coastal cliff.

The MSL's location is easy to determine if boat captains merely align the coastal marker with the cliff-top flags.

"Vessels crossing the cease-fire lines may be seized and confiscated, and their passengers might be detained," Unficyp warned.

According to Unficyp, there were "over 1,200 crossings" registered last year, "some of which led to serious incidents."

Thursday, June 17, 1999

[05] Man jailed for raping daughter

The 45-year-old, who has been identified to protect the identity of his daughter, was charged with carrying out an unnatural sexual act, incest and corrupting a youth under the age of 13.

During the trial, the court was told of how the Paphos man systematically raped his daughter over a four-year period beginning in June 1995. The girl is now 16 years old.

The child's mother went to the police as soon as she found out about the abuse, when her daughter finally broke down in April this year.

Thursday, June 17, 1999

[06] Fifth man held over 'tarmac scam'

BUSINESSMAN Andreas Klatsias yesterday joined his son and son-in-law in custody in connection with an alleged "tarmac scam".

Two civil servants are being held in connection with the same case.

Nicosia District Court heard that Klatsias' ready-mix concrete concern had received £38,400 from the state to supply 2,858 tonnes of concrete for roads in Kokkinotrimithia, west of Nicosia. But the company supplied only 1, 950 tonnes, conspiring with crooked officials to have weighing certificates for cement trucks falsified to show the full amount had been supplied, the court heard.

CID investigator Lefteris Demetriou said the scam had cost the state £11, 600.

Senior Nicosia District Office technician Lefkios Christodoulou, 51, Stavros Papanicolaou, 41, an inspector in the same office, Klatsias' son and business partner Loizos Klatsias, 21, and his son-in-law, civil engineer Kyprianos Kyprianou, 27, are being held in connection with the same investigation.

Andreas Klatsias, 47, was arrested on Monday and brought up before the court on Tuesday. But procedure had to be adjourned till today after the court stenographer refused to work beyond her midday clocking-off time.

Police yesterday asked for a four-day remand for Klatsias senior. The court granted a three-day remand because the suspect had spent Tuesday in custody. The court also ordered that Klatsias, from Lythrodontas in the Nicosia district, be provided with medical attention during his stay in custody because of a long-term illness.

The alleged scam occurred between October and December last year. Police say the two civil servants issued a total of 41 false documents concerning quantities of ready-mix supplied for the village road-building.

Thursday, June 17, 1999

[07] Anyone for a beer?

ATTENTION beer lovers: Old Nicosia will next week be host its first ever beer festival.

'Beerfest 99' is the first of what may become an annual event, one of the organisers of told the Cyprus Mailyesterday.

The organiser said the event was "a pilot project for larger scale events in the year 2000."

The beer festival will take place on the nights of Thursday, Friday and Saturday next week in the moat next to Ochi Square.

The fun starts at 7pm and continues until midnight with traditional cuisine, Cypriot dances, live music from popular performers and firework displays.

The firework show will begin at 9.15pm on Thursday and Friday, and at 11pm on Saturday.

Entrance to the Beerfest will cost £3 for adults and £1 for children under the age of 12. This fee entitles the (adult) ticket holder to one free beer from any of the over 20 varieties represented.

"More beer can then be purchased at very low prices," said the organiser, who preferred not be named: "We made it clear to all the participating companies that the aim was to expose people to different kinds of beer, not to make money."

The event will include both local and imported beer varieties, and does not fall under the umbrella of any particular brand.

Buying an entrance ticket will also enter the holder into a draw with the grand prize a trip for two to the Octoberfest in Munich, Germany. The prize includes accommodation over the two-night trip.

The event is being sponsored by To Periodikoand Pringles.

Thursday, June 17, 1999

[08] UK Cypriot held in London after 100kg heroin sweep

After the successful swoop by British police, the UK authorities informed Cyprus police chief Andreas Angelides by phone.

The English Cypriot suspect is though to be head of a network of drug pushers across the UK.

Local police are now checking whether the suspect had criminal links with the island.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1999

Thursday, June 17, 1999

[09] Cyprus hopes to take missing issue to European Parliament

The announcement was made to reporters following the closed meeting of the Refugee, Enclaved and Missing Committee, by its deputy chairman Costas Papacostas.

Papacostas said the Committee would ask for assistance from Greek Euro MPs to take the issue before the European Parliament.

He added he would be contacting them shortly.

Papacostas said that the Committee was satisfied with the exhumation process currently under way in Nicosia to help identify human remains that may belong to the Missing, saying it was clear that progress was being made.

Papacostas added that he hoped the results of these exhumations would be those anticipated.

A 20-member team from 15 countries, belonging to the Physicians of the World organisation and headed by professor William Haglund, is currently in the process of investigating exhumed remains. Speaking earlier in the month, Haglund said the process would take two to three months.

It is hoped that the exhumations of the remains at the Lakatamia and Constantinos and Eleni cemeteries will encourage the Turkish Cypriots to return to an agreement made in July 1997 between both sides for the location of the remains of the missing.

The Turkish side pulled out in January last year; files on the whereabouts of the graves of 200 Turkish Cypriots and 400 Greek Cypriots had already been exchanged.

The Greek Cypriot side maintains that the current exhumation work has little to do with the agreement, but hopes it will encourage further negotiations with the Turkish Cypriots.

The Turkish Cypriots say they will not return to talks on the missing because they claim the government included people killed in the coup on the list of 1,619 missing persons.

Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides recently said all coup victims were accounted for, putting the figure at around 93.

The Turkish Cypriot side lists 803 of its people missing since the outbreak of intercommunal troubles in 1963.

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