AKEL: The measures announced by the government are not sufficient to confront the wave of price increases
28 March 2024, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia
The Christodoulides government is once again proving it has fallen short. And the new measures announced by the government are not capable of confronting the wave of price increases affecting the vulnerable and the middle strata.
The government continues to follow developments in desperation seeking to cover up its own incompetence by leaving its previous announcements such as the subsidy of the interest rate pending. Furthermore, the termination of the fuel subsidy is hasty and incomprehensible at a time when other horizontal measures are being implemented.
This policy leaves consumers unprotected at a time when new increases and so-called green taxes are imminent. The state will continue to collect millions in taxes, returning crumbs to society. Prince hikes and increases cannot be tackled through lump sums, but neither can they be addressed by excluding the middle strata and low-paid workers who do not receive benefits.
Price increases and expansiveness are not a current phenomenon and they are not expected to end any time soon. Therefore, instead of indulging in piecemeal measures and patches, the government should have long ago drawn up a comprehensive plan to confront the problem of poverty by applying structural measures to reduce energy costs and the cost of living.
A combination of targeted and horizontal measures are needed to protect society from price hikes and boost its disposable incomes. The government is urged to extend fuel subsidies, even belatedly.
We again propose that if the government wants to increase government revenues to support society, it must at long last move
towards the taxation of the exorbitant profits of energy companies and the banks. The government’s difficulty in taking on powerful interests is glaring.
As for President Christodoulides’ comments on 2012, they are not surprising. As a child of DISY party with Nikos Anastasiades as his mentor, he is simply reproducing the DISY propaganda to shift the blame on somebody else and exonerate the banks for their crimes against the country.
It is obvious that after DISY and FAR-RIGHT ELAM, now Mr. Christodoulides thinks that he will solve his problems by attacking AKEL. All he succeeds in doing is to confirm that he will neither honor their election commitments nor have any answers for today.