Filenews 20 December 2020 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
As long as the state is left without a budget, health spending related to tackling the coronavirus pandemic, such as vaccines, will be directly affected, as these are funds that were not in the 2020 budget, so they are not covered by the twelfth approved by the House on Thursday.
Government circles also believe that for the same reason the funds relating to employee support projects will also be affected, due to the suspension of companies from the restrictive measures taken by the government to intercept the virus. At the same time, the state will not be able to spend a cent on the development spending it planned in January.
The Ministry of Finance has prepared a list, including 31 mature projects, which were ready to be announced in January and February and which may be transferred at a later date, due to the verdict of the House. These are infrastructure projects in the field of education and health as well as projects in local authorities.
According to the list of the Ministry of Finance, projects concerning the Paphos-City road, the call for tenders for the Road Derynia - Sotira and the call for tender for Kapparia Avenue, in Paralimn, are affected so far. Also, as the ministry claims, the signing of the contracts for the opening of the Hemodialysis Unit in Paphos, the announcement of the competition for the Mental Health Hospital in Athalassa, the implementation of the break breakers in Pervolia, Oroklini and Chloraka and the improvement of the fishing shelter in Ormedia will be affected.
Also, the construction of the Primary School of Geri II, the Primary School of Ipson, the 1st Kindergarten of Paphos and the expansion as well as the earthquake upgrade of the Gymnasium paralimni will be affected.
In addition, according to the Ministry of Finance, more than 20 projects in municipalities and communities, worth more than €28 million, will be frozen. Among these projects are the extension of the pedestrian/bicycle road in the Municipality of Lakatamia, the construction of the restoration project of the Old Athienos Market and its conversion into a multifunctional cultural center and the redevelopment of the historical center of Agia Phyla in the Municipality of Limassol. Also affected are the construction of the junction of the avenues "Makarios G" and "Hippokratos" in the Municipality of Geroskipou, the improvement of the avenues "Evagora Pallikarides", "Greece", "Georgios Grivas - Digenis" and "Neophytou Nikolaidis" in the Municipality of Paphos and the road network "Kappari" in the Municipality of Paralimni.
The formation of the main square and adjacent streets in Pelendri, the regeneration of the traditional core in A view, the landscaping of roads in Argaka, the regeneration of the core in Volos, the regeneration of the Meteora area in Episkopi, the thematic route in Inia as well as projects in Lysos, Panagia and Achleia may also be affected.
Projects the government claims to be affected were expected to either launch a tender or sign a contract with contractors early next year. Opposition parties consider the government to be in danger because, according to the parties, within two months it would not have been possible to proceed with the signing of contracts or the announcement of such a large number of projects. They argue that the government proceeded with these briefings to demonstrate to the public that the act of opposition voting against will have repercussions.
Needs are assessed
After a majority of the parties vote against the budget, the state in January will operate with twelfths, covering only salaries, pensions, benefits and operating costs. The technocrats of the Ministry of Finance assess the obligations of the State, to determine whether serious problems will arise and urgent needs will arise. The government is already preparing the new budget, which will be tabled in January. The parties are demanding that the new budget bill be formulated on the basis of the amendments they adopted on Thursday, before voting against the budget. Something that seems to... it is in the government's interest to some extent, especially in terms of cutting operational costs, conference costs and staff training. However, there is no way that the government will consent to the cut-off of funds related to privatizations, as this is an issue that concerns the government's philosophy. It also disagrees with the crucifixion of many other funds, since the process of release from the Finance Committee will cause many delays.
Political consensus sought
At the same time, contacts are under way between the President of the Republic, the Minister of Finance and the President of the DISY with the opposition parties and especially with the EDEC and the Alliance. However, if the government submits the budget earlier and it is approved before the end of December, the first twelfth will not have to be used and payments will normally be made through the budget. It is therefore up to the Ministry of Finance to restore normality to a certain extent. The sooner he submits the budget to the House, the sooner it will be approved and put into effect. However, in the event of serious problems, it is not excluded that the Ministry of Finance will transfer funds from operating costs to meet the needs that will arise. Practice which is not the most appropriate, but is usually followed by ministries.
Political messages
After the opposition slapped the government on Thursday, by voting against the budget, the government camp will necessarily make some concessions in order to obtain the required majority in Parliament. In order for the state to function, the adoption of the state budget is a one-way street. The failure to pass the budget was not mainly about the parties' disagreement with the government's economic policy, but about political issues. The government holds the DIKO to blame for the vote, which has cast a black light on the failure to grant the natural ized files to the Audit Office. The government has set aside the DIKO and is now playing its last card with the EDEC and the Citizens' Alliance (four votes). It should be noted that proposals put forward by the EDEC to the President of the Republic concern not so much the budget, but issues of general policy. The two parties will have to put water in their wine and make concessions for the good of the citizens. Economists, speaking to "F", expressed concern that voting against the budget could lead to a downgrade of Cyprus' credit rating. As they argue, rating agencies also give great importance to the political stability of a country, as they believe that the functioning of the state without a budget will create political uncertainty.
