Statements by AKEL Parliamentary Representative Giorgos Loukaides following his visit to workplaces in Limassol.

AKEL demands an investigation into the sale of Limassol Port

26 October 2022

During our visit to the port of Limassol, the criminality of the sale of our country’s only commercial port was reaffirmed in the meetings we had today. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate AKEL’s demand to the law enforcement authorities, the Legal Service in particular, to carry out an investigation based on the findings made by the Audit Service, regarding this criminal act of selling off the port of Limassol.

It is quite clear, and also reaffirmed, that the privatisation of the port of Limassol has had a chain effect on both traders and consumers. Unfortunately, the fees charged by the owners of the port for the use of the port’s infrastructures have risen significantly.

We have also had the opportunity to talk to the workers, the hard-working people, who have once again told us that they can’t make ends meet. The salary is not enough, not even for covering half of their expenses sometimes, to cover their basic needs. Particularly affected are those who have to pay rent and the increased costs of electricity, fuel and, in general, those who are suffering from this wave of expensiveness and price hikes.

I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate AKEL’s position and our demand to the government, whose term of office is about to expire. The necessary support measures must be taken immediately, especially for those groups of the population that are suffering from poverty but whose wages remain particularly low, but also for those who cannot, themselves and their families, live with dignity.

A cry of anguish from consumers and producers over the ongoing price hikes

The same anguish about price hikes and the difficulty with which people are coping was also encountered in our contacts with a great many people in our visit to the Polemidia people’s market. People are expressing a cry of anguish about the enormous difficulties they are facing.

Of course, we have also seen the other side of the coin. Namely, the hardship that producers are experiencing, as they too are facing a series of increases that they have to pay for. At the same time, their sales are down because people are now finding it much more difficult to buy.

That is precisely why we insist that producers, the primary sector in general, must also be supported by the government much more generously.