Tales from the coffeeshop: Project of ‘national importance’ has become scandal

NIK THE FIRST, the self-proclaimed, incorruptible and truthful former president of the Kyproulla republic, has been keeping an unusually low profile in the last couple of weeks during which the Vasiliko LNG terminal scandal has been dominating the news and public debate.

The scandal, which will cost us a few hundred million euros (more if we are not lucky) has his personal stamp on it, as he ordered the awarding of the project without competitive bidding to a company with zero experience in setting up LNG terminals.

And he ignored all advice against doing so, because as our omniscient leader he decreed that this was a project of “national importance,” that had to go ahead, even if there was a high probability of it turning into a national fiasco, which it has. It is now being investigated by the European public prosecutor for procurement fraud, corruption and misappropriation of EU funds.

The incorruptible former prez will have to speak out at some point, but I suspect this time he will not ask the anti-corruption authority to investigate the scam to clear his name. He could write another book, a sequel to ‘O Sykofantis’, so the truth will shine.

ALTHOUGH media and parties have avoided pointing the finger at Nik I directly, accusing his government collectively for the scam instead, the two people he would have expected to stand by him have already hung him out to dry.

Two weeks ago, his protégé and successor Nik II declared that he would never have signed the Vasiliko contract, openly questioning his predecessor’s thinking and motives for doing so. Aware that the EU investigation was in progress since March, little Nik’s survival instinct dictated that he distance himself from his ex-boss.

Then, a few days ago, Disy chief and House president Annita Demetriou did the same. In a strong-worded statement, she reminded that her priority was transparency and urged that “every suggestion of corruption must be investigated without compromise.”

Barbie’s barbs did not end there. She wanted a full investigation of Vasiliko and called on the government “not to hide anything,” but “to do all that is required for everything to come to light.”

Did she fear the government might try to hide Nik I’s responsibility for the scam? Surely not.

THE TOUGH stance the government has taken on the migrants stranded in the buffer zone might have the approval of the public – with the exception of a small number of bleeding-heart do-gooders – but it has developed into full-blown public dispute with the UN.

On Thursday when some 44 migrants found themselves on the edge of the buffer zone, with Cyprus special officers stopping them entering the republic, the Unficyp spokesman Aleem Siddique accused the government of pushbacks and – not for the first time – of violating international law.

The government responded with a typically self-righteous statement on Friday saying “the implementation and invocation of international law cannot be selective” and that it should also apply to Turkey, from where the migrants had come. It also had a dig at Siddique, whose comments were “not conducive to the handling of the matter.”

Philenews website assisted the government effort to discredit the UN by posting a video of the migrants with an Unficyp soldier, claiming he was caught “leading them through the buffer zone to enter the areas controlled by the Republic.”

All he was heard telling the migrants on film was “stay there” (in the buffer zone), but this was not allowed to interfere with Phil’s shit-stirring.

UNFICYP did not stay quiet as it usually does. It posted a response to the video on ‘X’ which said:

“WRONG & MISLEADING! UN peacekeepers are ensuring the safety of asylum seekers being rounded up and pushed into the UN buffer zone. To suggest otherwise is irresponsible & inflammatory. It must STOP!”

Siddique, who openly accused the Cyprus police of transferring migrants found in the republic into the buffer zone, made a valid point when he said “we are not border guards.” Our government begs to differ, and I am surprised he was not told off for using the prohibited word ‘border’.

As Unficyp is here, with not very much to do in terms of peacekeeping as the situation is pretty peaceful, its soldiers may as well deal with the migrant flows, instead of acting, in Edek’s words, as “Turkey’s willing accomplice in illegality and the instrumentalisation of migrants.”

THE CENTRE of the universe, enjoying its role as a regional evacuation post, signalled its readiness to take evacuees from Lebanon in the event that Israel decided to wage a war against Hezbollah.

The Estia plan for dealing with EU and third country nationals evacuated from war zones could be activated at any moment, the government said. It had been successfully put into force last October, after the Hamas attack on Israel.

Deputy Minister of Migration Nicolas Ioannides was quick to point out, a day later, that the evacuees would be in Kyproulla only for a couple of days before they returned to their country of residence while flows of people seeking asylum would be dealt with through another plan.

There will be no plan to deal with thousands arriving in Kyproulla seeking international protection if Lebanon eventually turns into a war zone. And we will not be able to transfer all of them into the buffer zone.

MANY are wondering why Prezniktwo has been predicting, at every opportunity, that there would developments/positive news for the Cyprob in August or September. What purpose does this serve? Why does he feel obliged to mention this whenever possible?

He reckons the UN Secretary-General will come up with some plan or ideas to move things forward, but why would he do this considering his personal envoy found no common ground between the two sides when she was here? I may be wrong, but my uneducated guess is that it is just hot air, a case of putting a positive spin on an abjectly negative situation.

In the latest example of this tactic, in an interview published in Athens newspaper Ta Nea on Saturday, he declared that he was ready even this month, to accept an invitation from the UNSG that would open the way to the resumption of talks. That there will be no invitation does not matter – he is still ready to drop everything for this fantasy invitation.

THE UNION of the greediest doctors in the world, Pasyki, warned earlier this week that clinics and departments at the Famagusta, Larnaca and Paphos public hospitals could close down because of understaffing.

In the same warning it accused Okypy of outsourcing health services. Well, if the hospitals are understaffed, does it not make sense to outsource services so that patients are not let down? And I bet outsourcing is a lot cheaper than hiring more doctors on 150 grand a year who demand overtime pay to work after 2.30pm.

THE PRESIDENTIAL palace, it was reported last week, spent €60,000 on catering and restaurants in 2023. Nobody could accuse the president of wasting the taxpayer’s money on catering. This amount is peanuts compared to what the French president’s office has been spending on catering.

The bill for a state banquet in honour of King Charles III at the Versailles Palace last year came to €475,000, France’s top audit court reported. There were 150 guests with the price per head coming to a little over three grand. A dinner at the Louvre museum, in the same year, for prime minister of India Narendra Modi was a bargain at €412,366.