Our president presented his promises for the remainder of his presidency on January 29. Of course I should say he re-presented his promises, since many of them were presented in his 100-day presentation in 2023 and then mentioned again in his 2024 promises. Funny how most politicians tend to forget that that access to databases is quite easy nowadays.

So I want to focus on his environmental promises, which were a bare minimum. It basically consisted of a pledge to set up an investigative department within the Environment Department. That’s it. No other issue touched, no other promise made. Except when I found relevant articles on the subject from 2023 (yes, he has made the same promise a year and half ago) the reference mentioned that 50 new hires would be made to create a new investigative department.

But let’s focus on the actual effectiveness of this promise. Because if another 50 people are actually hired to set up such a service, and are distributed across the island, then maybe it will be all that is needed, right? All the illegal fly tipping, waste dumping in rivers and ravines, all the illegal constructions in Natura 2000 and other environmentally sensitive areas, will all be reported, right? They will be dealt with in a timely way, with the courts issuing cease and desist warrants immediately, and constant monitoring so illegal constructions or mining or quarrying cannot restart.

And then reality sets in. If you look closely at most of the environmental cases blowing up in our media, you will see negligence from at least one governmental department for each case reported. So, I have to ask: will this investigative department report on the negligence and lack of action from other departments or government institutions? Because they sure aren’t doing so now! The Environment Department already has multiple responsibilities that allow it to issue fines, but it seems reluctant to do so in general, but definitely cannot do so against another governmental department or even a local authority. You see, our courts have decided that the executive branch cannot take another executive branch to court, because they are part of the same government branch. Basically, the left hand cannot sue the right hand.

So what is the purpose of this highly publicised action? Why is it heralded as the solution to all our environmental problems when the government clearly knows that their hands will be as tied as the rest of the departments are? I think you all know the answer to that question.

So my question is, why isn’t the government utilising the same resources but allocating them to an independent body – not a member of the executive – that could have the potential power to issue fines and take offenders and negligent government officials to court?

I am afraid that the answer to that question is haunting: the government prefers to protect its own rather than get the job done properly. They would rather our country resembles a Mad Max environment rather than admit wrongdoing and liability.

And that’s which why it falls upon NGOs and political parties and all of us as individuals to do something about it. Demand, expose, litigate.

Efi Xanthou is a political scientist and eco-activist and secretary-general of the Cyprus Ecological Movement. [email protected]