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Property

Considering the candidates

ΠΡΟΕΔΡΙΚΕΣ ΕΚΛΟΓΕΣ ΨΗΦΟΦΟΡΟΙ

As the presidential election approaches people are considering who to  vote for and parties deciding which candidate to back.

As the voting system is, voters usually choose based on political party support, because it is part of the basic philosophy of the voter. For example, if you don’t believe in the capitalist system, you will cast your vote to the left of capitalist parties. Another issue that people choose political parties, and by extension the candidate they support, based on is their stance on the Cyprus problem.

Candidates follow the line of their party and so independent voices cannot be freely expressed, making the concept of independent candidacy rather theoretical.

During the presidency of Giorgos Vassiliou, Greece was encouraging Cyprus to apply to join the EU while it held the EU presidency. Being supported by AKEL, Vassiliou did not go for this.

We have numerous new candidates, including some younger ones, with unknown backgrounds, who we hope will offer something new to the economy and how the state is run.

And so, as the election approaches we observe the candidates and the attitudes of the political parties and try to figure out where they stand on the various problems this country is facing.

As a real estate office, there are certain issues we believe that the president-elect should address and offer solutions for that concern this industry:

  • Common expenses in joint ownership: only recently has the law commissioner begun to deal with the issue, after 20 years of inactivity
  • Small claims courts: There is now a proposal for disputes of up to €10,000 to be quickly resolved by this court. God knows when and if it will happen
  • The insurance industry is full of scammers and often the insurance that you think you have, in fact does not exist. What does the insurance regulator do?
  • All the enquiries to various commissioners and others which go unanswered, which even the judicial services complain about
  • The independence of journalists and therefore reliable reporting, should be encouraged through the establishment of a investigations and awarding of a Pulitzer-style prize (there are proposals)
  • Conflict of interest: The phenomenon is known but what tangible proposal is there to limit it?
  • Delays to public tenders
  • Rents and student housing: there are no proposals despite the problem (there is a proposal for help without subsidies)
  • Coexistence of development and environment (there is a proposal)
  • Undeclared work and its encouragement due to VAT
  • The ‘advisers’ of MPs who hold positions to serve their political parties instead of based on knowledge or skills (there is a proposal involving the University of Cyprus)
  • Tenancy and the possibility of extending new legislation to non-institutional tenants
  • The folly of imposing minimum size areas on housing, resulting in an increase in rental costs. Why does this exist?
  • Encouraging licensed craftsmen and their promotion through technical schools, with a corresponding increase in their wages. This could help solve the poor quality of building

These are some topics that need to be addressed, though there are many others.

 

Antonis Loizou & Associates EPE – Real Estate Valuers, Estate Agents & Property Consultants, www.aloizou.com.cy, [email protected] FRICS

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