Реформы Кипра

The government does not plan to raise taxes or cut pensions and wages, President Nicos Anastasiades assured civil servants on Monday, noting however, that government spending, including payroll, could only increase at a reasonable pace.

“Despite the fact that it went against the policies adopted across the European Union, that is continuous wage cuts, and slashing of pensions and benefits, we will continue to follow this prudent policy in the future, and in this context we will need to ensure that any increase of the government’s operating expenditure, including the state’s payroll, should be reasonable, reflecting the economy’s capabilities,” Anastasiades pointed out.

Such a policy is dictated by the decision to avoid tax hikes and salary cuts in future, he added.

Anastasiades reminded the recent lifting of the last restrictions in capital movement, the passing of insolvency legislation, the subsequent upgrades by rating agencies, as well as the current economic indices, which “allow us to be optimistic for the future”.

“We can now focus on structural reform, the completion of which will allow our country to return to real and lasting growth, without the risk of finding ourselves in the custody of others,” he said.

Anastasiades added that his reform programme includes the introduction of mobility – as opposed to mere secondment – in public service, “in a way that will allow civil servants to select the department they wish to work in, and our programme includes a promotion system that will introduce objective criteria that will promote excellence across public administration, without discrimination, and without political party identification”.

He assured all stakeholders that no reform will take place without dialogue with those directly concerned, whether educators, or healthcare professionals.

But, he added, reforming the state does not simply translate to reforming public administration, but includes simplifying business licensing and operation procedures, a new regulatory framework for tourism and other economic sectors, and electronic governance.