According to the European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Pierre Moscovici Cyprus has enormous potential for growth, but a great deal still needs to be done, such as:

a) The modernization of public administration,

b) Attracting foreign investment through privatizations

c) Reducing private debt and non-performing loans

As AKEL we want public administration to improve, productivity to increase and services to citizens to be upgraded. Unfortunately, the Government is promoting a so-called reform, which is full of superficial phony changes and expediencies.

As to the question of non-performing loans, they didn’t arise out of nowhere. On the contrary, on the one hand the crisis and subsequent unemployment and on the other hand the property “bubble” rendered many loans non-performing. Most of the blame is without doubt due to the loose and poor supervision of the banking system. As to the matter of reducing non-performing loans, the answer is simple. It lies in boosting growth, reducing unemployment and providing support for the vulnerable groups of the population. The reduction of non-performing loans cannot be done through the sale and foreclosure of people’s homes.

Finally, as regards the question of attracting foreign investment, AKEL does not agree that this can be achieved through the selling off of public wealth and property. As AKEL, we urge the Government to abandon its insistence on selling out of the Semi-governmental organizations and to focus on the need to modernize them so that they can contribute even more to growth and the development of the country.