AKEL General Secretary Stefanos Stefanou, who met with the leadership of POVEK on Tuesday to discuss the problems faced by small and medium enterprises, blames the Government for the lack of political will to take measures to alleviate small and medium-sized enterprises and households./p>
In statements after the meeting, the Secretary General of AKEL said that with the meeting they want to emphasize the great importance they give to the small and medium enterprise, which is on the one hand the backbone of the economy, and on the other employs thousands of employees.
He said the meeting was aimed at discussing the many and multiple problems of small and medium-sized enterprises, which have become even more pressing and have multiplied due to the pandemic.
Mr. Stefanou said that in order to deal with the problems, a comprehensive policy for small and medium enterprises is needed, and mainly political will from the executive power, from the Government. “We are convinced that this political will from the Government does not exist, on the contrary, actions are taken and practices are followed by this Government that serve the big interests to the detriment of small and medium enterprises”, he said.
He added that he would the way of supporting small and medium enterprises in a targeted way should be considered, with AKEL having submitted concrete proposals on how this can be achieved.
Mr. Stefanou then stated that they also discussed the problem with the opening hours of the branches, the bad practices of the Banks, something that puts a lot of pressure on the small and medium enterprises. He noted that AKEL on the issue of banks has submitted suggestions and passed legislation that unfortunately have been referred back and then reported by the Government to the Supreme Court.
He added that there is also a big problem with rents as well as evictions, problems that arise from the high cost of energy. “For all these problems, AKEL has submitted concrete proposals and will continue to work inside and outside Parliament to provide solutions,” he said and reiterated that first of all the Government needs to act to solve the problems.
< Mr. Stefanou also mentioned that through the meeting it was found that with POVEK and small and medium-sized businesses AKEL is on the same line, they have similar views, something that facilitates the party to promote proposals that will solve the many problems it faces the small and medium enterprise.
Asked about the mobilizations announced by AKEL for February 26, Mr. Stefanou clarified that these mobilizations concern the accuracy, which unfortunately the Government does not seem to understand or even recognize. He said that there is accuracy in basic necessities, in energy, in the price of fuel but also in the price of electricity. He acknowledged, however, that the accuracy was due in part to exogenous factors and to rising commodity prices as well as fuel itself.
On the other hand, he continued, there is also responsibility from the Government for the increases, especially in fuel and electricity as all these years he did nothing to be able to face today the situation that prevails internationally. The Government has not been able to bring natural gas to Cyprus for electricity purposes, with the result that we pay too many millions, about 120 million a year in pollutants, an amount that is passed on to the accounts of citizens and businesses.
“And for these we have made specific proposals. Unfortunately, we are facing the refusal of the Government. “When it comes to banks, the government brings bills to Parliament with the speed of light to help the banks. When it comes to helping households and small and medium-sized businesses, the government puts forward various excuses,” he said, noting that through various events. next Saturday at provincial level AKEL wants to mobilize society to put pressure on the Government to take measures to alleviate consumers and households.
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