Filenews 14 March 2021 - by Vasos Vassiliou
The state, after a long term rental of private buildings and the payment by taxpayers of tens if not hundreds of millions to house 500-700 of its services (depending on the period) is close to erecting some of its own buildings on a more organized basis than in the past.
It is worth noting that the state has been renting buildings since 1977. According to a relatively recent report by the Auditor-General, in 2011 the state paid for rents of €30,900,000, in 2012 the amount was reduced to €30,200.000, in 2013 €27,400,000, in 2014 €23,200,000, in 2015 €22,700,000, in 2016 22,700,000 and in 2019 €23,400,000. Many of the rents were reduced due to the economic crisis and the negotiation between the government and private landlords, while the reduction in annual rents also contributed to the release of buildings rented.
The great effort made about ten years ago with the aim of building buildings on the site of the International State Fair failed due to the reactions of the Municipality of Egomi and residents of the area.
After reflections, studies and procedures it was decided to use the space located in the Interior Ministry, in the centre of Nicosia, to house three ministries while the programme of housing state services extends mainly to the boundaries of Nicosia although it will go as far as the entrance of the city to the Foundation of Christos Stelios Ioannou, where there are state pieces of land and where the former Speaker of the House had proposed to erect there a building for The Parliament. In the same area, the construction of buildings by private individuals is planned.
One of the areas that will be home to a state agency is that of the Hilton Hotel. In particular, in relation to the Qatari fillet, as it is known, the Ministry of Labour will be housed (if all goes according to plan). The building (Nicosia City Centre) is under construction and it is estimated that work will be completed in the summer. It was intended to be converted into some form of shopping centre on the ground floor and offices on the floors but eventually the project seems to be cancelled for financial or other reasons. Negotiations between the finance ministry and the owners began at some stage and it appears that the operation will be closed. The land belongs to the Archdiocese and many suspected that the Qatari fillet would be used as a parking lot for this development. This approach was reinforced by the fact that part of the piece was already converted into a parking lot and the explanation given was that it would serve the employees of the Department of Immigration who moved to the area and even some saw expediency in this move. It is worth noting that the existing building of the Ministry of Labour is considered largely dangerous and if it is not yet transferred to this building (compared to the Qatari fillet) it will be relocated elsewhere.
The issue of the relocation of state services was also discussed by an inter-ministerial committee, which set out the next steps.
Based on the planning, three buildings will be built on the site of the Interior Ministry (compared to the archaeological site chosen for the construction of the new Parliament, also known as the "Chief Secretary") and three buildings will be built to house the Ministries of Interior, Justice and Transport. It had previously been decided that the State Archives would be transferred to the old interior ministry building, while the building in which the interior minister's office and the ministry's administration are located would be transferred to the "Academy of Wise Men".
However, in view of the prospect of the construction of the three buildings in the same area, it was wiser to think that the interior minister should remain in his office so that the entire administration would not rise up for a few years to then return to the new buildings when they were completed.
The issue he was concerned about was what would happen to the "P" interior ministry building. On the instructions of the Interior Minister, about 50 employees were transferred and another 40 were transferred to the preserved wing of the ministry since the other two are in the dark and in need of extensive maintenance. Another 40 employees will be transferred to new resolved buildings that will be built next to the existing ones. The total cost for all solved is estimated at €1 million. The other two wings of the Interior Ministry will be completely renovated and the building will be given to the Ministry of Justice.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be moved to the People's Bank building at the entrance to Nicosia [despite the traffic lights]for as long as it takes to repair the building in which it is housed today.
In addition to the above, the government bought the Metropolitan building on Spyros Kyprianou Avenue in Nicosia (next to Lycabetos Police) in order to transfer there the Ministry of Innovation and Research and Computerization.
In another development it was decided that the Immigration and Immigration Service should be transferred in the future to the area of the Christos Stelios Ioannou Foundation. The building will be erected on a state building. The logic of moving the service out of town is that this point is also convenient for those from other cities and the good news is that those who visit these offices will not enter the city, burdening traffic, and they will not be bothered with the city's traffic either.
During the discussions the Ministry of Finance proposed to buy a building on Limassol Avenue and in particular the City Home to move the Immigration Department there, but preferred the solution of its out-of-town house. The Service was moved from the site of the old hospital, where it was housed after the abandonment of the buildings by the Ministry of Health, to a building in the Hilton hotel area (Makarios Lane). Accommodation in this building is considered temporary. The move from the old Hospital was deemed necessary after the promotion of the decision to build the new state museum in the same area.
And a column of the fallen in favour of freedom on the hill of PASYDY
The phenomenon of entering the presidential field by anyone who wishes to lay a wreath at the statue of Archbishop Makarios seems to be coming to an end. It is worth noting that today in order to lay a wreath one must obtain permission from the Presidential Palace. There is thought of constructing a column of fallen "pro-freedom" in the timeless struggles of the Cypriot people. The monument will be located opposite the new building of the Parliament on the hill of PASDY. That's where the presidents of foreign countries will lay wreaths. The project is already being promoted.
During the administration of Dimitris Christofias, it was decided to use part of the International State Fair for housing state services. In particular, the Provincial Department of Urban Planning and Housing, the Central Land Registry Offices, the Provincial Department of Lands and Surveys, the Nicosia District Administration, the Nicosia District Office and Nicosia District Office of the Department of Internal Revenue and the Ministry of Transport and Works would be transferred. A hotel and Conference Centre, which will be managed by the State Exhibition Authority, were also planned at the Exhibition Site.
At the same time, provision was made to house the following services:
-In Plati Aglantzias buildings were erected to house the ministries of justice and defence along with similar services).
-In the area of SOPAZ, in addition to the Department of Water Development, it was thought that the headquarters of the Land Registry would be transferred.
Buildings in the public rented 380 owners
The Auditor-General noted in a report that the Public Service, in a very large proportion (53%) is housed in rented buildings.
According to a proposal from the Ministry of Finance to the Council of Ministers 14.12.2011, of the 1,072 State Services, 570 were housed in privately owned buildings and 502 in rented buildings. In a new proposal from the Ministry of Finance to the Council of Ministers 30.4.2014, it was reported that according to data from the General Accounting Office of the Republic, the number of rented buildings amounted to 671.
On 20.2.2019, the Council of Ministers at its meeting decided, inter alia, to extend the terms of office of the Technical Committee set up by the abovementioned Decision, 31.1.2019, in order to explore the possibility of housing Government Services in office complexes and buildings available on the market, with a call for a declaration of interest for the purchase/rental of buildings. The Council of Ministers also decided to annul its previous decision, 2.5.2018.
The total amount paid in rent by the State for the Rental Contracts sent by the House of Representatives is, according to the data available, in the order of €185 million.
It is worth noting that buildings in the public sector are rented from 380 owners.
The Auditor-General had noted that rental contracts had been concluded favourably with the owners, with a long rental period and provision for rent increases every two years.
Calculations by the Audit Office show that due to the long rental periods provided for by certain Rental Contracts, it appears that the total amount of rents paid over a period of approximately 10 years may have been equivalent to the cost of building privately owned buildings.
It was also found that work had been carried out on a number of rented buildings, the costs of which were incurred by the State instead of by the Owner. At the same time as the start of this work, the tenant was already beginning to pay the rent to the owner, i.e. before the use of the buildings. In addition, Rental Contracts were identified with agreed rental prices, well above the respective reasonable market prices.
Several rental buildings did not have Certificates of Approval, some had Certificates of Approval with Notes, while others Had Certificates of Approval with Unauthorized Tasks. In addition to the above it emerged that some Services/Departments/Organizations proceeded to rent buildings to meet their housing needs, with office space much larger than required. Rent increases were also given, without any attempt/negotiation to limit them. It also emerged that a number of buildings were rented, which presented various problems and/or were inadequate/inappropriate/energy-intensive for housing government agencies. And of course buildings were selected without proper procedures being followed, in violation of the principles of good administration, equal treatment and transparency.
