We have set the bar very high and we have surpassed it, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Wednesday evening, adding that “the state can be effective.”
President Christodoulides was replying to journalists’ questions during an interview with tv stations around domestic issues, starting with the economy and asked to comment on the fact that 16% of citizens live below the poverty line, President Christodoulides first pointed out that unemployment has dropped to 4.9%.
He then spoke about the increase in the minimum wage and the CoLA agreement, noting that there has been an average wage increase of 13% and an increase in social spending of 5.3%.
He also said that he would go to London on May 21 to discuss the repatriation of Cypriots through tax incentives, while also referring to the upgrading of the Cypriot economy to A grade after 13 years.
“The bar is always high and we will always go above the bar,” he said, adding he was “very optimistic seeing the interest in investment”.
Asked whether he believes he has kept his election pledges and whether there will be at least a solution to the cost of electricity, the President said that the tax reform includes an increase of the tax-free threshold with the adoption of various criteria that exceeds the 24,500 euro mentioned before the elections.
On electricity and the cuts in domestic photovoltaic systems, he said the System Operator proceeds to gradual cuts in case of excess production, adding that the solution is battery storage, for which the Government will present a specific plan.
He added that the cuts in 2025 are estimated at 4-5% or €12 bimonthly, compared to a bimonthly benefit of €240 from the use of the systems, which he said shows that the investment in renewables was the right thing to do.
According to President Christodoulides, the goal is to reduce electricity costs by 30% with the arrival of natural gas, adding that the completion of the Vasiliko terminal is expected by the end of 2025.
He also said that the reduction in VAT on electricity from 19% to 9% will take effect from April 1 and will last one year before it is reassessed.
On the issue of multiple pensions, and asked if he is in favour of receiving a salary and a pension at the same time, he said a bill has been tabled in Parliament.
“Whatever the House passes within the constitutional framework, I am ready to support it,” he noted, adding that the government’s proposal abolishes the pensions while reducing allowances by up to 80%, and that he is not in favour of multiple pensions.
He highlighted the fact that there was no question on immigration, adding that “in two years the government solved” the issue.
“Our vision is to create security for the Cypriot people in all areas. Security in education, security at work, security in health, security that the citizen’s contact with the state will be reciprocated, internal security, security abroad. We have set the bar very high and we have surpassed it. The state can be effective,” he pointed out.
“We are implementing what we are saying and I am really happy because in the Cabinet of Ministers with my colleagues, important work is being done for the benefit of the entire Cypriot people, for the benefit of the many and not the few,” the President of the Republic concluded.
Also read: President: Two years of progress and reform in Cyprus
Source: CNA
