1 week Ago
A few weeks before the ‘pay as you throw’ scheme was scheduled to come in to force, Akel issued a statement arguing that its introduction should be put on hold because none of the necessary preparations had been made and nobody was ready for it. House president and Disy leader, Annita Demetriou took the same position on Wednesday, after a meeting on the matter with representatives of the Union of Municipalities and the Union of Communities. Speaking to journalists, Demetriou said that “we have still not heard of a definite plan.
” On the contrary, “the only solution is to burden citizens (with extra costs), and this cannot be accepted,” she said. The way forward was through the creation of a committee, in which all interested parties would participate, and would set in motion a gradual implementation that would benefit people and meet the objectives of the project, Demetriou explained. This advice was heeded by the Agriculture and Environment Minister, Maria Panayiotou, who announced on Thursday, after meeting the representatives of the municipalities and communities that a roadmap was agreed for the implementation of the scheme.
A working group would be set up and have the job of “resolving all issues.” Dates for the meetings of the interested parties with the working group had already been agreed, said the minister. For every problem in Cyprus, the answer is the setting up of a committee (or working group), which is the best way to ensure that nobody takes responsibility for delays in taking decisions or for bad decisions.
It is laughable that at the time the scheme was supposed to be implemented, the government decided to set up a working group to discuss how it would be implemented with representatives of local government. What had it been doing all last year by way of preparations? Why was a working group not set up in January 2024, the original period for the introduction of the scheme? The agriculture ministry is one of the most densely staffed ministries, an environment department was set up to deal with issues of green policy, local government has been reorganised yet none of them bothered doing anything about the ‘pay as you throw’ scheme, the introduction of which had already been put back a year. And the minister decided to set up a working group only because the municipalities and communities complained about the high cost of the scheme they would be burdened with and the inadequate treatment facilities.
There are countless questions about the practicalities and cost of the scheme, which have not been addressed by the authorities which must have thought the scheme would have just happened. While it is the responsibility of local government, the executive should have done all the necessary groundwork for it to be put into practice, but it has not even found a solution for the malfunctioning waste treatment plant in Pentakomo, which should be an important part of the scheme. So now we will have to wait for the working group, following the minister’s roadmap, to implement the ‘pay as you throw’ scheme.
Given the pace at which committees of public employees work, we might still be talking about the introduction of the scheme this time next year..
