Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-02-07

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Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-02-07

Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cyprus-mail.com/>

Friday, February 7, 2003

[01] New patient criteria put hospitals on the brink
[02] Sex shop owner hails collapse of prosecution
[03] NHS costing being calculated by team of Harvard statisticians
[04] Cabinet approves title deeds for refugees after Papadopoulos U-turn
[05] New poll sees little optimism for imminent Cyprus solution
[06] Papapetrou: I'll be a punch bag if it makes you feel better
[07] Loan freeze was our idea, government says
[08] Nicosia results expected within three hours
[09] EAC ridicules cover-up claims on Vassiliou bills
[10] Christofias: no decision yet on whether to build parliament over archaeological site

[01] New patient criteria put hospitals on the brink

By Alexia Saoulli

OVER 200,000 more patients are set to flood state hospitals, bringing the public health system to the brink of collapse and costing the taxpayer at least Ł90 million, Health Minister Frixos Savvides warned yesterday.

The influx is the result of a vote in Parliament raising the income criteria for those allowed free medical treatment in public hospitals.

The government sets regulations for who is entitled to free medical treatment according to their gross annual income, explained health ministry official, Dr. Andreas Polynikis.

"Some people receive free medical treatment in the public sector, others receive treatment at a reduced fee and others pay for full service depending on what they earn," he said.

The income criteria has now been raised, giving more people the right to free medical treatment.

Savvides said the Ministry had already increased the threshold for free medical treatment, but the House increased the figure even more, without considering whether the state could cope with a huge surge of new patients.

The amendment would exhaust the public sector's resources, he said.

"Public hospitals do not have the capacity to cope with this new income criteria," he said. "At least 90 per cent of the population will now be allowed free medical access -- which is the equivalent of 200,000 more patients flooding hospitals. They will have free access to hospital facilities such as beds, doctors, treatments and medications. This will create chaos in public hospitals and cost at least Ł90 million because of the extra staff and medication needed to implement it."

Savvides wandered what the House of Representatives had been thinking, and said 1,500 hospital beds a month, 200-300 extra doctors, 500 nurses and the new hospitals needed to deal with the influx of patients did not appear "by magic".

The new National Health Scheme, which will be implemented by 2005, will give everyone access to free medical treatment irrespective of income.

But the president of the Medical Association, Dr. Antonis Vassiliou, said doctors were being stretched to the limit, often being forced to exceed their patient examination limit.

"According to the EU, doctors should only examine 25-30 patients (daily)," he said. "We are going to insist that what applies in Europe is also applied in Cyprus," he said.

Under the new NHS, doctors - particularly general practitioners -will be able to see as many patients as they want, as long as they give optimum service, said Polynikis.

"Normally a GP can only see up to 25 patients a day and a specialist - depending on the specialisation - can see 16-20 a day. Under the NHS, doctors will be able to see more patients, but only if they are chosen by the patient. In order to be chosen as a GP, the medical service they provide will have to be top notch, thus keeping up with the competition. In future, fewer doctors are likely to exceed the standard daily patient examination limit, because they will be able to combine good service within their working timeframe," Polynikis said.

[02] Sex shop owner hails collapse of prosecution

By Alex Mita

POLICE efforts to clamp down on the operation of sex shops have come to a grinding halt after a Nicosia District judge ruled that sex toys sold at a Nicosia shop were not obscene.

Judge Michael Papamichael ruled on Wednesday that the prosecution had failed to produce sufficient evidence to support that sex items sold by the 'Lovers' Sex Shop' in Makedonitissa were obscene.

The latest case is the sixth failed prosecution over the sale of sex toys. Repeated raids have already led to the closure of two of Nicosia's three sex shops.

The court found Andreas Papachristoforou, owner of the Lovers' Sex Shop, not guilty on all charges against him and ordered the return of all items confiscated by the police and Customs.

Papachristoforou said yesterday he was delighted with the court's decision.

"Ever since we went in business five years ago, we have been under constant fire from conservative citizens who complained to the police on a number of occasions that our products were obscene and offensive," he said.

"There was a campaign against sex shops even though the import of sex toys was not illegal. But the view into my shop is blocked, there are warning signs outside saying that the shop contains sexual oriented material and there is also a sign prohibiting the entry to people under 18 years of age, " Papachristoforou said.

Papachristoforou said that despite complaints and campaigns to ban the sale of sex toys, the demand for sex toys had increased dramatically over the last five years. He now claims to have over 25,000 clients all over the island.

"This is not an obscene shop, this is a shop that helps save marriages," he said.

"We have products here that help impotency, premature ejaculation and more. All our pharmaceutical products have been approved by the Health Ministry, so why don't people see we are in the business of helping instead of offending. We don't force people to look at our products, they come in here of their own free will."

[03] NHS costing being calculated by team of Harvard statisticians

By Alexia Saoulli

THE government does not yet know how much the National Health Scheme will eventually cost, a senior Health Ministry official said yesterday, adding the results of an extensive survey had been sent to Harvard University in America for evaluation for final costing.

"This is an exercise to see how much the new health scheme will cost," said Dr. Andreas Polynikis. "We do not know what money is spent in the private sector and have no evidence as to what offering free medical access to all citizens will eventually cost."

As part of the survey, the Ministry drew up a questionnaire with a list of 80 detailed questions, he said. It was handed to 7,500 people at random. The questions addressed patient and medical supplier behaviour, including 'consumer moral hazards' and 'induced demands' - in other words, to what extent patients would seek more medical treatment knowing it was for now for free.

"We wanted to find out what we spend on medical treatment today and what the attitude to this health scheme is and will be. For instance, more people will go to the doctor and ask for prescriptions once they know they are not paying for it privately. This needs to be taken into consideration when calculating the final costing and has to be determined using mathematical equations," said Polynikis.

Doctors and medical practitioners were also included in the survey and asked to answer separate questionnaires, he said. The cost of medical facilities, including hospital beds, treatments and medication were also assessed.

Because Cyprus did not have the necessary expertise to calculate the National Health account, it sent the results to Harvard University to be analysed by a team of statisticians, headed by Professor Bill Xiao, he said. The results should be ready by the end of the month and published by the end of March.

The first such costing survey was carried out in 1992, followed by a second one in 1996, he said.

"We wanted to see if how much it would cost now, based on medical prices for 2002. And we wanted to know if people preferred the public or private health sector," said Polynikis.

The cost would be calculated as a proportion of Gross National Income. In 1992 it was estimated at 10.5 per cent of GNI and in 1996 at 9.1 per cent. The government wanted to see it if was still more or less the same, he said.

The NHS is being set up with three social partners: the government, employers and employees. These three sections of society would contribute financially towards establishing a fund, which would buy health care from all providers (private and public) for the entire population. The government would contribute 4.55 per cent of everyone's salary, employees would contribute two per cent of their salary and employers would pay 2.55 per cent for every two per cent their employees paid. Self-employed individuals would pay 3.55 per cent of their income. All other sources of personal income - such as rents or interest - would contribute two per cent to the fund, he said.

The cabinet will be appointing a new NHS Secretary-general after the presidential elections, once the House has approved the candidate, said Polynikis. The health scheme should be implemented and operational in three years' time, he added.

[04] Cabinet approves title deeds for refugees after Papadopoulos U-turn

THE Government Spokesman announced yesterday the Cabinet has approved the regulations necessary for issuing title deeds to homes in refugee estates.

Michalis Papapetrou said the decision had been prompted by comments made on Wednesday night by DIKO chief Tassos Papadopoulos, in which he said he favoured giving the houses to refugees.

President Glafcos Clerides had pledged years ago to issue titles to refugees and the process began around five years ago, but it was blocked in the House by AKEL and DIKO.

"These two parties, which have the majority in the House, were against and this is why the government considered it futile to submit such rules to the House in the recent past," Papapetrou said.

Four days ago, Clerides mooted the issue anew, but was heavily criticised by the opposition for exploiting the refugee issue to get re-elected.

Yesterday, Papapetrou said it was the government's position that "all refugees, whether there is a problem with the land their houses are built on - Turkish Cypriot land - or not, should receive the same treatment".

Papapetrou said he hoped the House would take the same position, adding that if Papadopoulos had not changed his stance it would have been futile to submit the regulations for approval.

Interior Minister Andreas Panayiotou said the issue was first tabled before the Cabinet on June 19, 2002 and after their approval yesterday they should be soon submitted to the House for discussion.

Panayiotou said the legislation was precise on all issues surrounding the ownership of refugee houses.

[05] New poll sees little optimism for imminent Cyprus solution

FIFTY-three per cent of Cypriots believe that there is little or no chance of a solution to the Cyprus problem within the next few months, compared to forty three per cent saying such an outcome is very likely or quite likely. The results come from a study on political culture and electoral behaviour in Cyprus, carried out by CYMAR Market Research Ltd on behalf of CyBC, using a sample of 1,200 people.

The study revealed that 46 per cent of those questioned had a better opinion of Turkish Cypriots today than they did in the past, while 43 per cent held the same view, seven per cent had a worse opinion and five per cent were undecided.

Regarding election forecasts taken between January 23-30, opposition candidate Tassos Papadopoulos secured 43.9 per cent of the vote in the first round of the February elections, 31.5 per cent went to incumbent President Glafcos Clerides, 9.2 per cent for independent candidate Alecos Markides, 2.9 per cent for New Horizons leader Nicos Koutsou, 2.2 per cent for others and 10.2 per cent were either undecided or refused to answer.

Compared to an earlier poll between January 14-19, Papadopoulos gained an extra 2.4 per cent support from 41.5 to 43.9 per cent, while Clerides also clinched a further 1.1 per cent from 30.4 to 31.5 per cent. Markides dropped 4.8 per cent from 14 to 9.2 per cent and Koutsou moved up one to 2.9 per cent.

Asked who they would vote in a second round of voting between Padapoulos and Clerides, 48 per cent of respondents said they would vote for Papadopoulos, 39 per cent for Clerides and 13 per cent were undecided. Voting in Cyprus is compulsory.

In a head-to-head second round battle between Markides and Papadopoulos, 48 per cent would vote for Papadopoulos, 36 per cent for Markides and 16 per cent were undecided or refused to answer.

Asked to predict who would win the presidential elections, 51 per cent picked Papadopoulos, 25 per cent chose Clerides to win, four per cent Markides and 20 per cent didn't know or wouldn't answer.

Sixty-two per cent of newcomers to the electoral process said they would vote Clerides, while 27 per cent opted for Papadopoulos and 11 per cent refused to answer.

[06] Papapetrou: I'll be a punch bag if it makes you feel better

By George Psyllides

GOVERNMENT Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said yesterday he was ready to play the role of the punch bag for anyone who wanted to attack him and relieve themselves.

Papapetrou said on Wednesday he'd been the target of attacks from numerous politicians and presidential candidates, adding, "if some people think Michalis Papapetrou looks like a punch bag they want to whack two or three times to relieve their frustration, that's fine, no resentment."

He suggested that several opposition politicians and presidential candidate Alecos Markides thought the Government Spokesman was an easy target.

"I am quite ready to play the role of the punch bag to relieve anyone who wants to attack me," Papapetrou said.

He added that accusations that he was a "political ruffian, a liar, ill- mannered, arrogant, etc" were clearly aimed at silencing him.

Papapetrou said all these accusations were unfounded, that he had never used such language against anyone.

"I back what I say with facts and political positions, and I think it is unfair for me to be treated this way.

"They have to reply with their own arguments and have a political dialogue so the people can draw their own conclusions," Papapetrou said.

He added: "So when I say Mr Papadopoulos is a rejectionist, am I lying?"

Papapetrou challenged anyone in the country who thought otherwise to let him now.

"And I am ready to apologise if I have did Mr Papadopoulos any injustice," he said.

Asked to reply to Papadopoulos' challenge concerning which plans had been accepted by President Glafcos Clerides and rejected by himself, Papapetrou reminded the opposition candidate of his interview with a Greek daily where he pledged to withdraw his candidacy if a plan was found which he had rejected and Clerides had accepted.

"I think the opposition risks staying without a candidate;

"The first plan accepted by President Clerides and rejected by Mr Papadopoulos was the (joint) American, British and Canadian (plan)," Papapetrou said.

But the spokesman did not stop there.

He said another plan rejected by Papadopoulos was the one submitted by former United Nations Secretary-general Perez de Guellar, which Clerides had accepted, as well as its revised version.

The first was accepted by AKEL and DISY; the second by AKEL, DISY, and DIKO.

"Mr Papadopoulos described it as treason and suggested we should bury it," Papapetrou said.

The spokesman presented a clip from the Kyrikas newspaper, which belonged to Papadopoulos but has since closed down.

The clip, dated Sunday, November 11, 1984, referred to a speech Papadopoulos made in Larnaca and was entitled 'Yes, we're fanatically with the rejectionist front' while the subheading read: We shouldn't even discuss the unacceptable Guellar proposals'.

AKEL and DISY, who supported the plan, were described as "preachers of submission" by Papadopoulos, the Government Spokesman said.

"Didn't Mr Papadopoulos say he would withdraw if we present him one such plan? We've found one; will he withdraw?" Papapetrou asked.

"With what ease a presidential candidate who expects to be president tomorrow, abuses the truth and utters such huge inaccuracies," Papapetrou said.

[07] Loan freeze was our idea, government says

By George Psyllides

ANY move to relieve the plight of stock market (CSE) debtors is welcome, Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said yesterday.

Papapetrou was commenting on Wednesday's pledge by DIKO chief Tassos Papadopoulos to freeze investor debts incurred in 1999 when thousands of small investors lost millions on the CSE.

The DIKO chief also pledged to bring those guilty for the collapse to justice.

Yesterday, Papapetrou welcomed any move to help investors, but was swift to question Papadopoulos' motives.

"The issue is that curiously enough, as soon as the President of the Republic arranged meetings with representatives of commercial banks and the Central Bank for this reason, suddenly, half an hour later Mr Papadopoulos scrambles to make announcements and declarations on the matter," Papapetrou said.

Asked why President Glafcos Clerides had decided to deal with the matter now, Papapetrou said arrangements had already been made and debtors had not been chased by the banks, mainly because of the intervention of the Finance Minister.

The spokesman said Clerides wanted to renew these arrangements in light of the elections, which could have prompted banks to think their pledge to an outgoing government was no longer valid.

Presidential candidate Alecos Markides said Papadopoulos' "supposed sensitivity" could only provoke laughter, adding his pledge was an election "firework".

"In an effort to mislead citizens but especially investors, Mr Papadopoulos wore the mask of a supporter of CSE victims.

"He even said he would undertake initiatives on investors' debts," Markides said in a written statement.

The statement charged that Papadopoulos did not really care about investors and their families because if he did, he would have included provisions for their relief in his "heavily advertised and hefty" programme and his law office would have stopped suing investors.

Papadopoulos yesterday insisted the proposals he had made on Wednesday had been rejected by the government a year ago.

He said they were prepared by a cross-party committee and as such could not be viewed as an election ploy.

Papadopoulos added that if his office had not have handled the lawsuits then some other office would have done.

"What we know is that the office -- which I haven't been to for a long time -- has sued 41 big investors, with claims between Ł100,000 and Ł200,000, and not small investors," Papadopoulos said.

New Horizons leader Nicos Koutsou said it was imperative to unmask the CSE "bandits" in order to restore justice and public trust in the institution.

"If the bandits are not revealed and if politicians who got shares through private placements either with their names or their fathers' are not named, trust and justice cannot be restored," Koutsou said.

He said his party had proposed the freezing of debts a while back adding that the CSE issue should be handled practically and not turned into an election competition.

[08] Nicosia results expected within three hours

ELECTION results for the Nicosia district are expected to be ready around three hours after polling stations close, it was announced yesterday.

Nicosia district elections officer Argyris Papanastasiou said that 195,658 voters would be casting their votes in 414 polling stations, which would be staffed by 2,000 civil servants.

There are 3,173 new voters in the district, Papanastasiou said.

He added that the first results from the small stations in Nicosia would be made public at around 5.45pm while all the results were expected to be out two hours later.

Papanastasiou said the staff of the polling stations has already been appointed.

The 2,000 civil servants will attend training seminars on February 11 and 12, where they will be instructed on the election procedures.

"Each team will be instructed on the election procedure in a two-and-a-half hour seminar," Papanastasiou said.

[09] EAC ridicules cover-up claims on Vassiliou bills

By Sofia Kannas

DIKO deputy Zacharias Koulias yesterday accused the government of trying to cover up irregularities in EU negotiator George Vassiliou's electricity payments.

Vassiliou responded saying he would sue Koulias as soon as his parliamentary immunity expired. The EAC said one of Vassiliou's meters had indeed been faulty - not tampered with - but insisted the matter had been settled last year.

Speaking at a news conference, Koulias alleged that over a five-year period Vassiliou paid just two or three pounds per bi-monthly electricity bill for his holiday home at Governor's Beach.

The DIKO deputy said Vassiliou's bills were suspiciously low during the years 1996-2001, after which a check meter was installed at the seaside villa.

"In 2001, Vassiliou's bill for his Governor's Beach house amounted to just Ł29.28 for the year. Yet, in the first two months of 2002, following the installation of a check meter, his bill came to Ł339.00. And the total after 10 months was Ł2,568.50.

"And why would the EAC decide to install a check meter in his home? They don't install one in everyone's house. There must have been a reason.

"But of course no one in the government will say anything about this- they just keep quiet."

Vassiliou was swift to respond.

"Since 1987 I have never seen my bills. All the bills are dealt with by my accountant, who ensures they are paid promptly.

"When the issue was brought to the attention of the EAC, they asked me to pay a sum, which they estimated was owed to them, and I paid it. They even refunded me a certain amount."

Vassiliou said a law suit would be filed against Koulias once the DIKO deputy's term ended, and with it his parliamentary immunity, adding that any amount received in compensation would be given to charity.

EAC spokesman Costas Gavrielides told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that as far as the authority was concerned, the case had been closed at the end of last January.

"In January last year the EAC investigated Mr Vassiliou's alleged involvement in the case of the stolen electricity.

"The EAC checked the electricity meters in all Mr Vassiliou's properties, including the KEMA building, his Nicosia residence and his holiday home in Governor's Beach.

"None of the meters was found to have been tampered with, and there was no suspicion of stolen energy.

"We did find that one of the meters at his seaside residence was not functioning correctly, but this was not Mr Vassiliou's fault.

"We installed a check meter there and estimated the energy not metered at around Ł7,500, a figure which was paid by Mr Vassiliou.

"The meter which was eventually found to be faulty was installed on December 21 1995. We examine all recently installed meters three months after installation, and this particular meter was working fine in March 1996.

"We also have a policy of checking all meters every three years, and when we checked the same meter in 1998 it was again functioning correctly.

"When rumours of Mr Vassiliou's alleged involvement in the stolen electricity case came to our attention in January last year we checked his meters with police present and found one at his beach house was not functioning properly. But, repeat, there was no suspicion of foul play."

Asked why the EAC didn't notice the low bills for Vassiliou's holiday home, Gavrielides said: "We didn't notice because the bills were for a holiday villa, and it's difficult to judge electricity consumption in such cases, as the house is only inhabited for limited periods of time. For the same reason, Mr Vassiliou's accountant may not have noticed."

"We issued a statement clearing Mr. Vassiliou last year, and the case is closed as far as we are concerned," he added.

[10] Christofias: no decision yet on whether to build parliament over archaeological site

By Alex Mita

HOUSE Chairman Demitris Christofias said yesterday that no decision had been taken on whether to build the new Parliament building at PASYDY hill in Nicosia after the discovery of antiquities on the site.

Following the decision to build the new Parliament at the hill in 1996, the Department of Antiquities started a series of emergency excavations at the site, in the hope of salvaging important archaeological data that would be lost with the construction of the new building.

Speaking yesterday after a visit to the site, where he was briefed by archaeologists on the progress of excavations, Christofias said all interested parties would meet as soon as possible.

"In no way does the House want there to be a clash between old and modern civilisation," Christofias said. "The best scenario would be a marriage between the two. I am against the destruction of our heritage."

However, Christofias said the current Parliament was old and neglected.

"It's a dump," he said. "It is a building that raises many questions from foreign visitors."

Christofias said the delay in the construction of the new building was due to bureaucracy and uncertainty over where the building would actually be built.

Asked about possible alternative sites, Christofias said there were possibilities, but they all had their drawbacks.

Despo Pilidou of the Antiquities Department said evidence found in the latest round of excavations at PASYDY hill had led archaeologists to believe they had found the ancient city of Ledra, Nicosia's ancient predecessor.

Pilidou said that from the latest excavations it appeared the ancient settlement extended on the east and north sides of the excavated area under the modern city, while on the west it seemed to have been bound by the Pedieos river.

"The study of the ceramics, coins, figurines and other objects may yield significant information about the historical development of the settlement, " she said.

"The above evidence may eventually provide adequate documentation for the identification of the settlement traditionally known as ancient Ledra."

Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-02-07

Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cyprus-mail.com/>

Friday, February 7, 2003

CONTENTS

[01] New patient criteria put hospitals on the brink

[02] Sex shop owner hails collapse of prosecution

[03] NHS costing being calculated by team of Harvard statisticians

[04] Cabinet approves title deeds for refugees after Papadopoulos U-turn

[05] New poll sees little optimism for imminent Cyprus solution

[06] Papapetrou: I'll be a punch bag if it makes you feel better

[07] Loan freeze was our idea, government says

[08] Nicosia results expected within three hours

[09] EAC ridicules cover-up claims on Vassiliou bills

[10] Christofias: no decision yet on whether to build parliament over archaeological site

Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article