Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-04-19

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cyprus-mail.com/>

Saturday, April 19, 2003

CONTENTS

[01] Denktash seeks direct talks with EU as Turkey pumps in extra aid

[02] Broadcasting authority bans ad after copycat concern

[03] Ministry denies blood supplies being wasted

[04] Privatisation is a one-way street, Neophytou warns his successor

[05] Liberalisation looms for the energy sector

[06] Supreme Court say medical association were wrong to suspend Matsakis licence

[07] Concern over possible influx of teachers from Greece

[08] EAC plans massive wind farm in drive for renewable energy

[01] Denktash seeks direct talks with EU as Turkey pumps in extra aid

TURKISH Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash yesterday called for direct talks with the European Union, which signed an accession deal this week with the internationally recognised Cyprus government.

The signing of the EU accession treaty on Wednesday will take the Greek Cypriot side of the island into the European Union, which considers that government to be the representative of the whole island.

"Half of Cyprus is in (the EU) and half is left out," Denktash told reporters. "They have to speak with us face to face. They have to discuss with us on what we want and how we can enter. If we leave this door open then we will achieve results."

Denktash disputes the right of Greek Cypriots to represent his 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus', recognised only by Turkey. The European Union has consistently refused Denktash's attempts to win a separate place for his administration in the Cyprus EU accession process.

The EU has negotiated with the internationally-recognised government in the south and said it was ready to talk to Denktash only if a UN reunification deal on the island was accepted.

United Nations talks on the Cyprus problem broke down last month, a blow for Turkey's own hopes of EU membership. The UN Security Council blamed Denktash's "negative approach" for the talks' failure, as did EU diplomats.

Turkey's government says the best way forward would be to continue working on a United Nations reunification plan.

In the meantime, Turkey said yesterday it would pump more than $500 million of aid to the occupied areas, crippled by decades of sanctions, to boost infrastructure, tourism and education.

This would be in addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars in aid Turkey already annually provides the north, where per capita income is substantially below that in the prosperous Greek Cypriot south.

"As the motherland, we will stand alongside the TRNC as we have in the past and as we will continue to do in the future," said Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener after talks with Denktash in occupied Nicosia.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, April 19, 2003

[02] Broadcasting authority bans ad after copycat concern

AN INSURANCE company advertisement that featured an eight-year-old boy trying to fly will no longer air for fear that children may injure themselves imitating the stunt.

The Broadcasting Authority had been investigating the potential danger of the commercial, which had been on television for weeks, when it finally pulled it off the air.

In the advert, a child with fake wings tries to fly off the roof but instead falls to the floor.

The ad was said to be in violation of broadcasting laws for depicting a child in a dangerous situation without any compelling reason connecting it with the purpose of the advertising campaign.

Concern has grown over the issue since a nine-year-old boy from Mosfiloti village died last month copying a stunt he saw on television.

Eyewitnesses said Michalis Petrou was trying to slide down a rope fastened to the roof of his house, but the knot gave way. The boy fell six metres onto the concrete floor, sustained heavy injuries to the head and arms, and died in a Nicosia hospital the next day.

At the time of the incident, Larnaca police chief Ioannis Diaouris said that both the media and parents should be careful of what children watched on TV.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, April 19, 2003

[03] Ministry denies blood supplies being wasted

Reports yesterday alleged that up to 14 bottles of unused blood were being thrown to waste by clinics, leaving public hospitals short of bottled blood.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail yesterday, Administrative Director at the Health Ministry George Prountzos denied there was any wastage.

“The government supplies bottles of blood to both state hospitals and private clinics. Once blood is taken to private clinics there are calls made by the suppliers to make sure all these bottles are used. If they have not been used, they are returned to the blood bank,” he said.

“This talk of wastage of blood is not true.”

He added that 40 per cent of bottled blood went to thalassaemia sufferers who undergo treatment in public hospitals, with the remaining 60 per cent being used for emergency treatment in the public and private sector.

“There is no evidence to support claims that 4-14 bottles of blood go to waste every day.

“We know the real situation, we are in touch with the people who supply the blood,” he added.

He also denied that there was a general shortage of blood. “Sometimes there is a shortage in Nicosia, but in these rare cases we arrange to get blood from other districts, where blood is more plentiful. We have also just installed an official to co-ordinate all the blood banks, so if we have a shortage in one area, this individual will ensure the balance is redressed.”

President of the Pancyprian Thalassaemia Association Stelios Kreouzos said the issue of blood shortages was part of a wider problem relating to blood banks in Cyprus.

“In fact, the shortage of blood is not the main problem at the blood bank -- we told Parliament that our main concern was that the blood bank was disorganised, and needed upgrading, extra staff and new machinery. Even if there is enough blood, how can it be administered to patients without the necessary staff?”

He said the Association was more concerned that the government was not allowing sufferers to be examined by a British thalassaemia expert, Doctor Paul Telfer, who Kreouzos said was unwanted by government doctors. He alleged that government doctors had put pressure on the government to stop Telfer from examining patients, so the Ministry had made him a thalassaemia consultant instead.

“The government doctors objected to Telfer, so that is why they (the Ministry) made him a consultant, and told him not to carry out examinations.”

“How can he (Telfer) be paid £60,000 a year to be a consultant and inform the Ministry about the situation of thalassaemia sufferers if he is not allowed to examine patients? We believe this is unacceptable, ridiculous and has to change. Telfer should be allowed to examine them.”

He added that the doctors objected to Telfer because they did not want him to take on a senior position.

“The doctors think Telfer may take on the position of Director by being here. But why don't the other doctors apply for the position if they want it? We want the best for our patients - if they see Telfer is not fit, then they have to prove it. We think he is suitable and if he was in London he would be head of thalassaemia there.”

Kreouzos also believes the current situation is violating patient rights.

“Doesn't the patient have a right to be examined by the doctor of his choice?”

Prountzos played down Kreouzos' assertions, however.

“Things are not exactly like this. Dr Telfer is employed by the government as an adviser and there are certain terms of reference in his contact and he is doing what his contract provides. We hired him as a consultant so his work is not specifically to examine patients,” he said.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, April 19, 2003

[04] Privatisation is a one-way street, Neophytou warns his successor

Reports began surfacing in recent weeks that long-standing plans to privatise CyTA so that it could compete better in an EU liberalised market, would be shelved by the new government, although it was accepted that changes would have to be made.

Communications Minister Kikis Kazamias was reported as saying earlier in the week that the government could instead give the CyTA board extensive powers in certain areas stopping short of complete privatisation. The move would require a change in legislation. The Minister reportedly said that under a new law CyTA would retain its semi-government status but extended powers would give the board the right to bypass the Cabinet and the House on certain issues. The aim, the reports said would be to give CyTA more flexibility on securing strategic alliances abroad.

Yesterday, Kazamias said the government was preparing a new plan for the future of CyTA, which would be tabled before parliament some time in June. The government was waiting for an opinion from the state legal services to see how CyTA could be modernised without removing state control, he said.

Kazamias said that in any case the majority of deputies had rejected the previous government's plans fully to privatise the authority.

“For the time being, CyTA will remain 100 per cent owned by the state,” Kazamias said. “We will make it more flexible and increase its chances of competing because we want it to be the strongest player in the communications field.”

Commenting on criticism dished out on Thursday by right-wing opposition party DISY, Kazamias said the party would have its democratic chance for a discussion on the issue when the time came.

But former Communications Minister Averoff Neophytou denied that the House had rejected the previous government's plans for the privatisation of CyTA and hinted that all the new government wanted to do was find a reason to change something that had come from the previous government. He said the House had neither approved nor rejected the plan.

“Privatisation is a one-way road and the government is going to realise it sooner or later,” Neophytou said, adding there was no way other than privatisation to make CyTA more flexible.

“There is not a chance that privatisation won't happen despite the government's philosophies. There is no other way out. They will have problems with the EU,” Neophytou added. “The state must be the organ that etches the policy for telecommunications and must handle the private sector and the state sector equally.”

He said if CyTA were to remain state-owned, the government could not on the one had set the policy for the telecommunications sector and on the other attempt to keep the Cyprus telecommunications authority ahead of the game.

“There is a contradiction which will not be accepted in the long term by the EU,” he said.

CyTA officials said this week that when the previous government had asked for the authority's views on privatisation, it had replied there could not be any half measures. Either CyTA would stay as it was or be privatised, a memo to the government said.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, April 19, 2003

[05] Liberalisation looms for the energy sector

A major cog that needs polishing is the liberalisation of the energy market. The question is when, how and what happens after?

Legislation on the electric power industry has been drafted and awaits parliamentary approval. Once passed, one third of the industry will be liberalised. The main consumers, mainly industry, will have a choice of suppliers. Eventually this will seep down to all consumers.

A regulator will be appointed to act as an independent watchdog, who will be responsible for granting permission to companies; taking into consideration costs, setting prices and ensuring the prevailing conditions will promote fair competition. Another position will also be established, that of Transmission System Operator (TSO), who will govern matters concerning the national grid. Electricity producers, including common households through photovoltaic schemes and private sector companies, will be selling power to the Operator who will sell it onto the consumer. The TSO decides where to buy energy from and how much. It is worth noting that the TSO is obliged to buy “green energy” or energy from renewable sources, any time it is available.

But how does the electricity market price stand and is it likely to maintain stability?

Electricity Authority (EAC) spokesman, Costas Gavrielides, believes that prices have remained very low in Cyprus considering the many obstacles faced by the energy sector.

“The EAC is trying to keep tariffs as low as possible. We believe we are doing a good job. Take into consideration the environment we are operating in and any objective observer will admit that our prices are low,” says Gavrielides.

“We have to produce electricity by burning fuel oil. This is as a result of a political decision to stick to heavy fuel in the late 1980's. We don't have the opportunity to produce electricity through waterfalls like most of Central Europe, which covers up to 70-80 per cent of consumption. They are in a much more favourable position,” he said.

Cyprus is breaking ground in the energy sector by expanding its renewable sources of energy through various projects, but mainly, it is heavily dependent on heavy fuel for electricity production.

We are currently trying to bring liquid natural gas in order to break our absolute dependence on mazout and diesel. We are not in a favourable position with regard to natural resources. We are stuck with this more expensive method,” he added.

Gavrielides went on to explain Cyprus' handicap regarding electricity prices: “We don't have economies of scale that big countries with millions of citizens have. We are not connected to another country's national grid. Our system is isolated. We have to allow for a failure in the Dhekelia power station. We have to allow for higher generator capacity than our peak capacity of 773MW because we cannot buy from somewhere else. Unlike countries on the continent, we don't have options to shop around.”

He summed it up saying: “We are in a very handicapped position as far as costs are concerned. Despite this, we are still able to sell at what we believe to be reasonable prices.”

Electricity prices have not changed substantially since 1983. Slight changes were made on March 1, 2003, in order to enable the liberalisation of the electric power industry.

“This was introduced to stop subsidisation of one kind of consumer by another.

Today, domestic consumers are subsidised by industrial and commercial consumers. But you can't have liberalisation and free competition under such conditions,” he said.

The EAC spokesman insisted that the estimated billing system adopted by the EAC saved a significant amount in costs allowing prices to remain low. “This is a wise thing to do. We will not change it despite complaints by various consumers.”

The EAC currently has debts in the region of £110 million. Last year's surplus for the semi-governmental organisation was £28 million.

“Our ten-year development plan (2002-2011) costs between £800 and £900 million. We are happy to sustain this programme through our annual surplus and the loans that this surplus enables us to obtain. Banks want us to fund 40 per cent of our projects if we are to receive a 60 per cent loan,” said Gavrielides.

Concerning the future status of the EAC, Gavrielides confirmed that an agreement had been reached by the Board of Directors, unions and management that the EAC would retain the same status, and not be divided into shareholding.

“But we believe we don't have proper flexibility as far as decision making is concerned. We want more flexibility as far as budget and decision-making are concerned. There are rigid restrictions now,” he added.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, April 19, 2003

[06] Supreme Court say medical association were wrong to suspend Matsakis licence

Matsakis' licence was suspended by a CMA disciplinary committee, which found him guilty of medical ethics violation charges.

The CMA accused Matsakis of making “insulting and offensive comments in public,” against four medical colleagues after they had carried out some autopsies last year. He was also found guilty of accusing his colleagues of medical negligence on numerous occasions.

But after hearing the details of the case, the Supreme Court decided to reverse the CMA's ruling and re-instated Matsakis medical licence.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail yesterday, Matsakis, who has accused the CMA of trying to gag him and destroy his medical career, said he felt vindicated by the decision.

“The Supreme Court has declared me innocent,” he said.

“They didn't even get into the matter of the case because we pointed out that the structure of the disciplinary committee was not legal, and the court decided that their ruling was therefore null and void,” he said. “I am absolutely delighted with the decision.”

Matsakis said the whole process had had an affect on his medical and political career and that he was seriously considering suing CMA for damages.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, April 19, 2003

[07] Concern over possible influx of teachers from Greece

The head of the Teachers' Association in Greece Nicos Troulias has said the fact that Cypriot teachers are on a higher pay scale than their colleagues in Greece would create incentives for Greeks to seek work on the island.

The average monthly pay for Cypriots is 2,500 euros while Greek teachers are paid an average of 1,600.

Only five per cent of Greek teachers receive a monthly family income of over 3,000 euros while 67.45 per cent of Cypriots rake in more than 2,200 euros month.

Troulias said he was certain that there would be a mass exodus of schoolteachers from Greece, but assured they would not choose Cyprus as their destination.

“This is not only about pay and it will not be the main incentive for a move to Cyprus,” he said.

“However, we feel that if there is an exchange of teachers from the two countries then there would also be an exchange of ideas and both Greeks and Cypriots would share valuable information about the culture of their respective country.”

Troulias' comments were backed by the president of the local Secondary School Teachers' union (OELMEK), Soteris Charalambous.

“If they are worried that there will be an invasion of Greek school teachers in Cyprus, they shouldn't because there are measures that secure their positions,” he said.

“If Greek teachers want to work in Cyprus, then they have to abide to certain regulations. Firstly they must remain on the island for a year without working and follow intensive courses to familiarise themselves.

“They would then have to pass an examination and if they do then they will be appointed.”

According to a study carried out by the Greek Centre of Research and Education, Cypriots teachers take longer to be appointed than their colleagues in Greece.

The research also showed that the majority of Cypriots speak a foreign language. Around 70 per cent of the teachers speak a foreign language while only 50 per cent of Greeks are bilingual. Around 30 per cent of Greeks cannot speak another language.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Saturday, April 19, 2003

[08] EAC plans massive wind farm in drive for renewable energy

The £5 million project is part of a new drive towards a cleaner, healthier environment, as set out in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and under the European Union's 'Green' Directive.

The Kourris Wind Farm will cover 83,000 square metres and hold four large wind turbines, each with the capacity to generate two megawatts (MW) of power, creating a total output of 8MW.

The colossal turbines are made of steel, stretching 85 metres to the sky, with a four metre base diameter and three blades, reaching 35m in length each one. The wind towers have a life span of 15 years.

Five European companies have submitted tenders for the project, which should be in operation after a year.

Studies were undertaken to locate the windiest place. Initial plans had the farm placed at the Vassiliko industrial zone but according to EAC spokesman, Costas Gavrielides, the project collapsed “because of the unhelpful attitude of the Town Planning and Housing Department” which refused to grant planning permission. At the new location near the Kourris Dam, average wind speed has been calculated at 4-5 metres per second, while maximum output for the wind generators is reached at 9-10 metres per second of wind velocity.

“We have plans to install more wind farms. They don't require fuel oils, just wind which is clean and environmentally friendly. They are unmanned stations and require maintenance twice a year,” said Gavrielides. Peak electricity capacity reached 773MW last summer. Wind energy will cover approximately one per cent of total electricity production given the 8MW maximum output calculated for the new wind-powered farm.

The 2001 Green Directive pushed the target for 2010 up from six per cent to 12 per cent for the use of renewable sources of energy as part of total energy consumption. Although each country has been allocated specific targets depending on their individual status, as a whole, Europe has taken huge steps in increasing wind capacity. By the end of 2002, EU total wind capacity stood at 23,056MW, with Germany, Spain and Denmark at the forefront of wind power advancement.

The undercurrent of change and awareness was highlighted in the 1998 Kyoto Protocol, which urged governments to cut the rate of carbon emissions in 1990 by eight per cent by 2012. While most countries recognised the urgency of the situation and the need for direct action, the world's largest polluter, the USA refused to climb on board, leaving a serious dent in global efforts to deal with issues like global warming and harmful emissions.

But Gabrielides highlighted that the obligations of the EU and the Kyoto Summit apply to the country not the EAC. “We are a responsible organisation which respects the environment. This is our contribution to the country's obligations on renewable energy sources,” he said, adding, “Unfortunately, instead of getting help, some government departments are putting obstacles in our path and delaying us”.

A government source informed the Cyprus Mail that a German company in the private sector has received planning permission to build eight new wind generators on top of a hill overlooking the Vassiliko industrial zone. The same company, WindSolar Renewables Ltd is building a wind farm in Xylophagou, which will produce up to 40MW of energy from 20 wind turbines. This is estimated to cost around £55 million.

However, cleaner air and a healthy ozone layer come at a price, warns the EAC spokesman. “Financially, green energy does not make sense because of its extremely high initial costs. People need incentives to invest in renewable energy sources otherwise they won't bother,” he said.

Parliament passed legislation last week stipulating that every electricity customer will have to pay 0.13 cents on top of every kilowatt per hour, resulting in a two to 2.5 per cent increase in tariffs. The amount collected will be put into a separate fund, which will be used to subsidise provisions on renewable energy sources. “We expect to create £50 million in the next ten years. This will be used to subsidise green energy, as happens in other European countries.”

Currently, solar panels used on households for heating account for four to five per cent of energy consumption. Meanwhile, the government has introduced a new system whereby citizens can produce photovoltaic energy at home and sell it at a very attractive price to the EAC. Installation of the equipment is subsidised by 40 per cent. This subsidy plus the price incentive for photovoltaic energy will be covered by the new fund being set up.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

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