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Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 00-12-01

Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cyprus-mail.com/>


Friday, December 1, 2000

CONTENTS

  • [01] Christmas debt warning from Consumers' Association
  • [02] News Briefs
  • [03] Bank stocks slaughtered
  • [04] Parliament calls for ban on all bonemeal feed
  • [05] Finance Ministry has second thoughts about third child cash handout
  • [06] Don't get too excited about the rain
  • [07] Government says report shows improved image
  • [08] Plenty of time for Denktash to change his mind, says De Soto
  • [09] Cyprus FTSE index launched
  • [10] Teachers call off action to give talks a chance

  • [01] Christmas debt warning from Consumers' Association

    THE CONSUMERS' Association is warning people to resist offers by banks to increase their spending power through increased credit limits, unless they are confident they can afford the repayment. Laiki Bank has written to many of its customers, giving them up to an additional 50 per cent on their credit card limits, without asking them beforehand if they wanted the extra purchasing power. In addition, they are offering incentives for people to spend more by entering anyone who spends more than £500 between mid November and mid January into a draw for a new car. "People must assess their needs and their financial situation. They should remember that what they spend now must be repaid later," advised Petros Markou, the President of the Consumers' Association. "No bank will give an individual anything for free and the public should not be taken in by such an offer, unless they are confident they can afford to clear the credit card bill when it arrives in the New Year - otherwise, because the interest rate is so high, it makes the whole borrowing process very expensive." Maria Demetriou from Nicosia, a single parent with two children, said she was outraged when she realised Laiki had raised her credit limit by £250 without her prior permission. "I think it's very cheeky of them - the money would be useful but it would only result in me getting into more debt. I've never even asked for a credit card and was sent one by the bank automatically, and it's already overflowing." She said she had never been in debt before, but the initial offer of the card was "too tempting to resist." Lefteris Vassiliou, the Manager of the Dhekelia branch of Laiki, admitted that the bank was offering incentives to those customers who spent above normal during the Christmas period, but he was adamant additional limits to credit cards had only been raised on those accounts that had been managed well. "Yes, we have written to our clients who do not have arrears on payments to clear or reduce their credit card bill. If, for example, someone has a limit of £250, we can raise that amount to £300, or if it's £2,000 we make it £2,500. But if someone has defaulted just once on a repayment we have not made this offer." Markou did not blame the banks for encouraging their clients to spend more in the run up to Christmas, but he believes anyone concerned they may not be able to afford the additional cost should be cautious. "At the end of the day, we at the Consumers' Association cannot take away people's free choice, but I can't stress enough the risks of getting into debt at this time of year." He added that new variable interest rates, which come into effect in the New Year, would probably result in borrowing becoming more costly. "I would not like to see people being drawn in by special offers only to find in two months time they have spent way beyond their limit." His advice comes at the same time as Britain's Office of Fair Trading warned people "not to become another debt statistic." It has just launched a new campaign, which highlights the dangers of overspending during the festive period. Figures reveal consumer credit in Britain has increased by more than 60 per cent in the last four years and is now running at £156 billion a year.

    [02] News Briefs

    Turkish spy released

    CONVICTED Turkish spy Sarih Chichekli was yesterday deported after serving just over four of his six-and-a-half year sentence. Chichekli, who in 1997 admitted to spying on the National Guard for the Turks, was taken to Larnaca airport under heavy police guard at around 2pm and put on a flight to Athens. He was then set to fly to Turkey. Attorney General Alecos Markides said last night that the spy had served all of a sentence, which was reduced along with those of many other convicts after President Clerides was re-elected in February 1998. The Turk was arrested in the Limassol area on March 8, 1997, after video recordings and diagrams of National Guard movements were allegedly found in his possession. Chichekli's release and deportation had not been publicised by the authorities but the television cameras were nonetheless waiting for him as he arrived at the airport yesterday.

    Woman killed on roads

    A 60-year-old woman was killed after being hit by a bus and in Nicosia yesterday, the fifth road victim in the space of two days. According to police, Panayiota Dimioti, from Dimes in the Limassol area, was hit as she tried to cross Democratia Avenue in Ayios Dhometios yesterday afternoon. Panayiota, who lived in an old peoples' home, died before she could be taken to hospital. The recent spate of road deaths, four of which have involved pedestrians being run over, has been blamed on the bad weather.

    [03] Bank stocks slaughtered

    BANK OF Cyprus (BoC) slid below the £4 mark yesterday and Laiki dropped under £3 as the season of goodwill continued to bypass the CSE. The all- share index lost another seven points in a single session, closing 3.04 per cent down at 225.9 points and heading towards the end of one of the worst weeks in its short history. Across the board losses ranged from 0.44 per cent in the technology sector to 4.56 per cent in the banking sector as the big sell-off continued up at the IMC - only the proprietor has changed. Only 26 companies registered gains yesterday compared to the 129 that headed downhill and the 51 who managed to escape the blitz. Volume was only £13.4 million. Although the index opened six points lower than Wednesday's 233-point close it managed to drag itself up to 229 by mid-session but sighs of relief were short lived as it headed south for the remainder of the session. BoC shed another 21 cents to close at £3.93, a 5.07 per cent drop on a volume of £2.8 million. In Athens, although the general and banking indexes were up slightly, BoC fell again to 2,500 drachmas (£4.16), a loss of 2.72 per cent. BoC's run of bad luck both here and in Athens could not be swayed by the bank's new announcement yesterday that it had obtained a licence to operate in Australia, details of which are due to be announced today. Laiki did not fare as badly on the CSE yesterday as its rival, but still managed to lose 14 cents, ending at £2.94. As usual BoC, Laiki and GlobalSoft accounted for over half the days; volume but at least Global was heading in the opposite direction, adding four cents to finish at £5.12. The CSE analyst said yesterday that this time last year when the index began its endless downward descent, brokers, media commentators, experts, and politicians, reassured investors that the sell-off was due to the need for cash for Christmas shopping and that it is normal for a stock exchange that had risen so fast to retreat slightly. "Well, one year has passed and investors are still liquidating for cash. By now they must have gathered enough cash to Christmas-shop for the rest of their lives because between then and now, quite a few billion pounds have left the CSE," he said. "If that is the case then consumer-spending will go through the roof this Christmas."

    [04] Parliament calls for ban on all bonemeal feed

    THE HOUSE Agricultural Committee yesterday called for an immediate ban on the feeding of meat and bonemeal (MBM) to all animals, including pigs and poultry, in the wake of growing fears over the spread of BSE in Europe. The feeding of MBM to cows has been blamed for spreading the disease in Europe. Its use for ruminants has been banned across the EU since 1994, but it had remained in use for pigs and poultry, as situation mirrored in Cyprus. The Committee's stance comes on the heels of a European Commission call on member states to adopt relevant measures already in force in Britain. The Cyprus Agriculture Ministry has committed itself to following any EU advice on the matter. Cyprus has not been importing or producing any MBM to feed ruminants since 1993. But there is no ban on feeding MBM to pigs and poultry. On the contrary, it remains a common practice, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Christos Mavrokordatos of AKEL, told reporters after yesterday's meeting. Butchers fear concern over the spread of BSE might account for a recent fall in beef sales, though the trend also coincides with a pre-Christmas fasting period. "Cyprus' beef is safe," said Mavrokordatos. "But it is time to ban imports and production of meat and bonemeal to feed pigs and poultry to protect them, and ourselves by extension, from getting any disease. We should have done this long ago to restore consumer confidence in meat and to safeguard the country's agricultural activity. We could have stopped sales from going down," he said, adding that the Committee had called on the Agriculture Ministry to take immediate action to implement its proposal. Mavrokordatos and representatives of farmers' unions present at the committee complained about the operation of MBM production units in Cyprus. "The units are never inspected. Sick animal parts could make their way into meat and bonemeal used to feed pigs and poultry," Mavrokordatos said. And he added there were not enough vets inspecting agricultural units and slaughterhouses. "There are only 15 vets inspecting 56 slaughterhouses. And 5,500 agricultural units are inspected only once every two years each. It is time to wake up and take some action."

    [05] Finance Ministry has second thoughts about third child cash handout

    THE LABOUR Ministry's proposed £5,000 carrot to spur couples into having a third child has run into trouble at the Finance Ministry, prompting a review of incentives on how to increase the island's dwindling birth rate. "Incentives for a third child seems to be the best solution, but the different options are still being considered," said Doros Ioannou, the Labour Ministry's Permanent Secretary. The Ministry had proposed a one-off £5,000 payment for the birth of a third child, but Ioannou told the Cyprus Mail the Finance Ministry had some objections after estimating the plan could cost the state £8-10 million. Ioannou said that, among the discussions, various suggestions had arisen, including an overhaul of the entire child benefit system. Another suggestion included adopting the fourth-child system for the third child, but this would also prove costly to the state. Ioannou said the options would be re-examined before the issue was submitted to the Cabinet for approval. Currently, only families with four or more children receive child benefit of £26.64 per month per child. The payments continue for as long as the children are dependent, until their mid-twenties if they do their military service then go on to university. However, couples with less than four children receive nothing from the state. The Association for Large Families, which only represents families with four and more children, said even the fourth-child allowance was inadequate compared to other European countries. Association president Demos Pissourios said yesterday that child benefit should be increased. "Compared to the allowances given in Europe, it's very small," he said. He welcomed the government's £5,000 proposal. "We hope couples that have a third child will proceed to a fourth," he said. There are 24,000 families in Cyprus with four children and over. The largest family on the island has 14 children. The previous record was 18, but Pissourios said they had all grown up. Ioannou said some families who already had three children had requested a meeting with Labour Minster Andreas Moushiouttas over the £5, 000 payment. One woman, whose third child is now six years old, said yesterday she was "disgusted" with the government's proposal to hand out the lump sum for future third children. "Where does that leave us? We still have three children and receive no help whatsoever," she said. "All children should receive benefits and the older they get the more you need it. There are poor families with only one and two children as I'm sure there are well-off families with four and five children." If the proposed £5,000 was broken down into child-benefit payments until the age of 18, it would cost the government £23.14 per family per month. Spread out to cover the other two children, the figure effectively amounts to child benefit of £7.71 per month for three-child families, lower than in any EU country, according to our calculations. But it appears some people are more than willing to go for the £5,000 option. The Labour Ministry this week received a call from a man asking when the proposal would come into effect so he could get a head start.

    [06] Don't get too excited about the rain

    DESPITE the heavy rainfall of the past few days, water levels in the island's dams are still four per cent lower than this time last year and the Meteorological Department says no further heavy showers are forecast for the next few days. This November has been one of the 12 wettest this century with 96 millimetres of rainfall, and a fall over the past three days that was 200 per cent higher than normal. However, Phedros Roussis, a technician for the Water Development Department, says the drought crisis is still no closer to ending. "To have enough water for both domestic and irrigation use, 138 million cubic metres is needed and over the past five years we have had nowhere near that amount. Certainly there is no indication that the current water supply restrictions to the cities will be lifted just yet - we would need several months of repeated rainfall before it is even considered." On Tuesday, there was an inflow of just over a million cubic metres, bringing the total content to just 7.1 per cent of the dams' capacity. The total inflow for the month was more than two million, compared to 777,000 last year and 833,000 in 1998. Reservoirs and desalination plants together provide about 35 per cent of the country's water needs. The rest comes from aquifers, but these are currently being over pumped at a rate of approximately 30 million cubic metres a year. The weather over the weekend is not expected to bring significant quantities of additional rain. Loizos Stefanou, the acting director of the island's Meteorological Service predicts: "It seems the main activity has already passed and on Friday we can expect to see everything stabilising. The weather will improve and there will be only a few isolated showers." This weekend is expected to be fine with long periods of sunshine and only the odd shower. Stefanou warns that the fact that we experienced heavy rain in November is no indication we are about to experience a particularly wet winter.

    [07] Government says report shows improved image

    ONLY two cases highlighted in the Auditor-general's annual report concern the operation of the state mechanism, the Government Spokesman said yesterday. The Auditor-general's report for 1999 contained a plethora of cases involving fraud and irregularities, prompting the Council of Ministers, Attorney-general Alecos Markides, and Auditor-general Chrystalla Yiorkadji yesterday to probe into the cases and decide on measures to avoid a repeat of similar situations next year. After a long session, the Cabinet decided that the report demonstrated the government's improved image, compared to previous years. Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said after the session that the Cabinet had studied the report and suggested specific measures to tackle weaknesses. Only two cases involving fraud or criminal offences directly affecting the government required investigation, Papapetrou said. The first case concerns alleged irregularities at Cyprus' Cairo embassy involving then ambassador Charalambos Kapsos, while the second called for investigation into a theft of asphalt from the Kykkos to Stavros Tis Psokas road construction site. In the first case, the Foreign Ministry was also criticised last month by Ombudswoman Eliana Nicolaou for failing to order a disciplinary probe into the embassy case. Kapsos is currently suspended pending the outcome of a police probe into charges that he abused his position by throwing parties at the state's expense. But the irregularities that Nicolaou criticised the Ministry for not probing are not Kapsos' alleged misdemeanours, rather abuses at the embassy that the suspended ambassador lodged complaints about in late 1998, eight months before his name made the headlines for the wrong reasons. Concerning the asphalt theft, Yiorkadji found that the government had in July and September 1999 paid £247,054 for a smaller quantity of asphalt mix than the one agreed with the constructing company. The Attorney-general had then launched an investigation, which remained incomplete because vital documents had mysteriously vanished from the Nicosia District Officer's Department. But the company was willing to pay the money plus interest back to the government, aiming at preserving the two sides' good co-operation. The question, however, remains. Where did the asphalt go? As for the rest of the wrongdoings listed in Georkadji's report, Papapetrou said they did not concern the government directly, but involved local authorities and other organisations. Papapetrou revealed that the Cabinet had decided that from next year separate reports would be drafted for the government, semi- governmental organisations, and local authorities. In addition, Papapetrou said, a ministerial committee including the Attorney-general and Auditor- general would be set up to study ways of improving management in the state mechanism. The committee would be ordered to submit its suggestions back to the Cabinet in three months. Yesterday, President Glafcos Clerides urged the Attorney-general to pursue without delay all cases involving criminal offences and to brief the relevant ministries.

    [08] Plenty of time for Denktash to change his mind, says De Soto

    THE UN does not consider last week's threats by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash not to show up at the Geneva talks in January as the final word on the issue, Alvaro de Soto said yesterday. Speaking after a meeting in Athens with Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, the UN special envoy for Cyprus said there was no onus on either side to confirm their attendance at this point, but hoped they would both show up in Geneva. "The invitation was issued personally, orally, by the Secretary-general, I am sure that Mr. Denktash as well as Mr. Clerides will respond in the same manner at the appropriate time," De Soto said, adding that since the talks were slated for late January there was "no great rush". "Mr. Denktash in Geneva promised that he would evaluate the Secretary- general's invitation to the talks and I look forward to discussing the matter with him when I go to the island," he said, referring to his upcoming visit, which begins on Sunday, following his contacts in Athens and Ankara this week. De Soto added that he would rather not comment further before talking to Denktash. In response to reporter's questions on what would happen if Denktash decided not to go, De Soto said he did not wish to answer hypothetical questions. He said the UN had not received a reply to the invitation from either side, but the Secretary-General hoped both would be there. Papandreou repeated Greece's support for UN efforts to find a comprehensive federal solution, within the framework of UN resolutions and Security Council decisions. He said he had had the chance to exchange with De Soto views on the progress of talks and the future steps the Secretary-General would take. President Glafcos Clerides has said the government's approach to the talks is positive, but the final decision on whether to attend would be taken after the Secretary-general issued his report on Cyprus and the Security Council its resolution on the renewal of the UNFICYP mandate in mid-December. Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides repeated this on his return to the island late on Wednesday. Cassoulides said the government's diplomatic services were working diligently and had already acted to prevent any negative references in the UN chief's report and the UNFICYP mandate. "Our side has said it has all the good will to attend the talks but its final decision will be taken after the Secretary-general's report and the Security Council resolution," he said. Last week, Denktash said the talks were a waste of time unless the UN recognised that they must he held on a state-to-state basis centring on a confederal solution. He was also angry over the Cyprus government's plans to participate in a European army. But UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said this week that the Turkish Cypriot leader should not carry out his threat boycott the next round of talks, a comment which has been welcomed by the government as a positive step. "I hope his position is not final. I think we are at relatively early stages of the talks and I know he was not particularly pleased with some of the suggestions I put forward at the last meeting in Geneva," Annan told reporters in New York. "I expect him in Geneva, and I expect Mr. Clerides, we have lots of work to do, the people need it, the people deserve a stable situation. I think if we work diligently at the system, we will get the results we all seek and I expect them in Geneva and I will be there."

    [09] Cyprus FTSE index launched

    By a Staff reporter

    THE NEW Financial Times/Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) index, the FTSE/CySE20, goes into operation today. The `top performing' companies picked for inclusion in the index had to meet criteria such as daily volume, a minimum of 30 per cent free float and a high market capitalisation. The list of companies on the index will be reviewed every six months. The twenty companies initially included in the index are Bank of Cyprus, L.K. Globalsoft.com, Sharelink Financial Services, Hellenic Bank, Louis Cruise Lines, Libra Holidays Group, Glory Worldwide Holdings, KEO, Cyprus Trading Corporation, Malloupas & Papacostas Trading, D.H. Cyprotels, Severis & Athienitis Financial Services, Salamis Tours Holdings, Orphanides Supermarkets, Universal Savings Bank, Minerva Insurance, Avacom Computer Services, Options Eurocongress and F.W. Woolworth & Co. (Cyprus). Approved investment and holding companies have been excluded from the new index. The CSE will hold a news conference today to announce further details.

    [10] Teachers call off action to give talks a chance

    By a Staff Reporter PRIMARY and nursery school teachers yesterday called off their strike action for three days, paving the way for the resumption of negotiations with the government over their pay demands. The gesture came after House president Spyros Kyprianou pleaded with the teachers to give talks a chance. Education Minister Ouranios Ioannides welcomed the teachers' move and said he would convene the relevant ministerial committee to discuss the strikers' demands today. Representatives of teachers' union POED will be invited to the committee meeting, Ioannides said. The island's 4,500 primary and nursery teachers have been working to rule for over a week in a bid to secure pay equal to that of their colleagues in secondary education. The strikers also called a two-hour stoppage last week and an all-day strike on Tuesday and are threatening an indefinite strike. Parents groups are threatening to take action of their own if the strike continues.

    Cyprus Mail 2000


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