By Efi Xnathou

Amidst all the chaos caused by the deadly wildfire in the mountainous region of Limassol last week, much attention was given to the fact that the “lead coordinator” (for wildfires), the director general of the ministry of agriculture and rural development, Andreas Gregoriou, was not in Cyprus. He was representing the Republic at memorial events for the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, held far away in Australia. Apparently, no one thought it was ironic to send abroad for several days the very person responsible for coordinating responses to mega wildfires – during the most critical period in Cyprus for such fires. Just another sign of the ignorance, incoherence and gap between rhetoric and action that characterises the current government.

But I want to pose a simpler question: even if he had been in Cyprus, exactly what kind of expertise would Gregoriou have offered that made him uniquely qualified to act as the lead coordinator of the entire effort? The man was appointed to the position in April 2023, just a few months before some of his responsibilities were reassigned when Kostas Hadjipanayiotou was appointed director of the newly established environment directorate within the agriculture ministry (this appointment was already two years overdue, since the decision to create the new department was made back in 2021).

This is the department under which the Forestry Department falls – logically, it should be responsible for the much-needed coordination between the Forestry Department, the Fire Service, Civil Defence, and local authorities, which, according to every report, is the single biggest problem always detected when reporting on wildfire management.

So, the director of the entire agriculture ministry was appointed as the wildfire coordinator in April 2023. And by July 2023, his duties relating to the Forestry Department, Environment Department, Fisheries Department, Geological Survey Department, and the Mines and Quarries Service were removed.

There was no official change to the cabinet decision, but let’s assume the reason was Gregoriou’s expertise, not an oversight. After all, he had been serving as director of the whole ministry since 2020 – surely, he must have learned something by now, right?

It’s irrelevant that he’s an economist whose career until 2020 focused on customs, taxation and heading the postal services. The man proved himself a “man for all seasons,” apparently learning to manage wildfires after the deadly 2021 fires in the mountainous Larnaca and Limassol regions. Besides, the new director of the Environment Department had no experience with wildfires, so better to leave the “battle-hardened” one in charge. As for Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou, she holds a PhD in Modern History and is apparently doing just fine in managing the ministry. Supposedly.

So, since April 2023, we have had an officially appointed lead coordinator by cabinet decision. And what has happened since then? Did he coordinate the implementation of any fire prevention plan? Was he responsible for pushing through the approval of the necessary budget allocations to implement the horizontal decisions taken? Was he at least responsible for defending the Forestry Department’s budget, which falls under his ministry? The answer to all three is no.

So yes, the lead coordinator was absent from Cyprus. Yes, no replacement procedures were initiated for the time he would be away. But I raise the question: even if he had been here, what exactly would have gone better? President Nikos Christodoulides, Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis, Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou and the Deputy Migration Minister Nicholas Ioannides were at the coordination centre – what more could a mere department director have done? The government spokesman, the deputy spokesman and the president’s press office head were all repeatedly asked who was in charge of coordination and none could answer. The agriculture minister claimed the coordination was handled by the Limassol district officer of the Forestry Department. The justice minister avoided giving a clear answer. No one even thought to ask the deputy migration minister despite his presence at the coordination centre. And the President – well, don’t bother him with such petty details…

When will we realise that the problems are systemic and deep-rooted, and that the rot starts from the top? I look forward to hearing what will be said at the emergency session of the parliamentary committees on this matter this week. I hope to hear something that gives me hope for a better future for this country of ours. But I very much fear we’ll hear the same old story yet again…

Efi Xanthou is a political scientist and member of the political council of Volt Cyprus