The Parliamentary Finance Committee discussed in the afternoon, behind closed doors, whether to release the funds for replacing the armoured vehicle used by the President of the Republic.
According to information from CNA, the Committee’s decision is expected to be announced at 5pm.
Speaking after the session, which concerned the release of funds from the Ministry of Finance, ELAM MP Marios Pelekanos said that clarifications had been given regarding the procedure followed. As he noted, it was essentially the procedure that had been applied for many years.
“Therefore, from what had been said, we understood that in this case too, as in the previous two instances, a specific procedure was being followed,” he added.
Mr Pelekanos also said that the cost was considered normal when compared with the two previous procedures, which took place in 2019 and 2010.
“Therefore, it is, if you like, a repetition of the previous procedure,” he said, conveying ELAM’s position in favour of approving the release of the funds.
Meanwhile, the president of the Alma - Citizens for Cyprus movement, Odysseas Michaelides, said that the most important issue concerned the stance of the President of the Republic. He claimed that the President, “like a raging bull, turned vehemently against Parliament, effectively lying” by stating that he did not know that the Council of Ministers had decided to replace his vehicle.
“The Government Spokesperson’s statements today, that the President was supposedly referring to the vehicle’s technical specifications, merely reinforce the impression that the government does not show even basic respect for citizens’ intelligence,” he added.
Regarding the substance of the replacement, Mr Michaelides said that Alma’s position in the Finance Committee had been negative.
“We believe that the technical and financial data, the maintenance cost of the existing vehicle and of the previous one, which they keep as a reserve, in no way justify replacing it so prematurely,” he said.
He added that the movement’s position was that the issue should be reconsidered when the technical and financial data genuinely justified replacing the vehicle.
Source: CNA