Those who choose easy criticism today must first recognize the real situation in which the Pentakomo Unit was received by the Water Development Department (WDD), says the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, noting that "we have received an abandoned Unit and we are already implementing the solution".
In response to the statements of the General Secretary of AKEL, who visited Pentakomo today, the Ministry of Agriculture speaks of "a unit with serious shortages, unmaintained equipment and problems that touched on public health issues, with mobile equipment almost immobilized, fire extinguishing system out of order and abandoned facilities".
He states that it is a waste treatment plant "which was designed when the competent Minister was an official of AKEL, while the criminal investigation is already underway for what we have received".
The Ministry of Agriculture clarifies that "from the first day of operation, the WDD proceeded with more than 180 contracts for repairs, maintenance, upgrades and for the creation of an integrated safety system from scratch, which resulted in the unit remaining operational and the Limassol district avoiding a health crisis".
He adds that "we received an abandoned infrastructure and in a very short time we kept it upright, while at the same time, we did not limit ourselves to managing the situation we received but are implementing all the necessary studies, so that within 2027 there will be a new contractor and a modern, safe and sustainable unit".
According to the Ministry, the roadmap to 2027 is part of a broader waste strategy, which includes upgrading infrastructure, expanding separate collection, strengthening recycling, promoting the circular economy and full compliance with the European acquis.
He notes that "seeing the mistakes of the past, we are moving on to the next steps on solid foundations and in continuous cooperation with all stakeholders, for solutions that will stand the test of time and that are not unambiguous, are multidimensional and collective and in this context, we are moving steadily forward".
The Ministry of Agriculture says that "the transition to a modern and sustainable waste management system is a common national goal", assuring that "it remains committed to the implementation of the actions that have been launched and to the cooperation with all stakeholders, so that the country can achieve its environmental goals and ensure a cleaner and healthier environment for citizens".
The General Secretary of AKEL sees a smell of a scandal with waste
They should proceed with rapid measures and decisions and there should finally be a comprehensive plan for what should be done in Cyprus in relation to waste management, said on Thursday the General Secretary of AKEL, Stefanos Stefanou, noting that Cyprus is already in three procedures for violating fixed targets set by the EU, while at the same time there is an ongoing investigation that we do not know at what stage it is for procedures that took place in Pentakomo, that is, for possible criminal offenses.
In his statements after a visit to the Integrated Waste Management Facility in Pentakomo, which followed the one in Koshi, Mr. Stefanou, according to an announcement by AKEL, said that these visits "are within the framework of our engagement for a large chapter concerning environmental policy and public health that has to do with waste management".
"All this also gives the smell of a scandal, which of course should be investigated," said the General Secretary of AKEL, adding that "it is known that there are huge problems in the operation of both units which arose due to obviously bad handling and bad plans and failures."
Mr. Stefanou called on "the government, the competent services and the competent Ministries to finally proceed quickly on this very important issue that I repeat touches on both the environment and public health so that we can deal with issues that are slowly taking a critical form because we reject, we make people recycle, it is known that there are procedures, actions and actions that already cost and are burdened by the municipalities, in the end we recycle at the source or separate material at the source and in the end these materials are not recycled, they are not managed but buried and this is unacceptable and must be addressed".
Mr. Stefanou said that "when you talk to various technocrats, it turns out that we do not have an overall plan so that everything is in its place, decisions are implemented within the framework of schedules that are set, with the result that instead of non-compliance with the schedules being the exception, it is the rule".
He added that goals and timetables are constantly being postponed and the disposal of waste continues and essentially the burial of the largest percentage of this waste, when it should have been the opposite, something that creates a huge burden on both the environment and public health.
The General Secretary of AKEL said that on June 1, 2027, the responsibility, the responsibility for the management of the unit here in Pentakomo will be transferred to the EOA Limassol and we will watch the same phenomenon again, just the central state shifting responsibilities to the EOAs as it has also shifted responsibilities to the municipalities for various issues where although the legislation provides for the assumption of responsibilities but after the problems are first solved and services or procedures come to the municipalities and to the EOAs with any bets that exist resolved.
Concluding, he said that "obviously and probably the intention that exists is through obstruction and delay to shift the responsibility to the EOA and then to point the finger at the EOA and the local self-government for serious problems that they have received from the central state without having been given all the means so that they can provide solutions".
