If we want to be an efficient state, we should not be proud of taking 20 years to implement a project, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday inaugurating the Hadjiyiannio Health Centre in Akaki.

At the same time, he underlined that those who undertake state contracts must complete them on time. “If they don’t complete them, they leave. For this reason, we dared to terminate several contracts, because the state cannot be blackmailed by anyone,” he added.

Akaki community leader Eleni Georgopoulou had said the people of her village are determined to achieve something, even if it takes them 20 years.

“It is not possible in a country for a project to take 20 years to be implemented, from the day of decision to the day of operation,” Christodoulides said.

The Hadiyiannio Health Center was named after former community leader Yiannakis N Hadjiyiannis, who inspired the project, and Andreas Hadjiyiannis, who donated €200,000 towards its construction.

The Akaki Health Centre, Chritodoulides added, with a total cost of €5,200,000 and an area of 3,355m², is a model of primary health care infrastructure. It has five GP clinics and is part of the network of 37 Okypy health centres.

Responding to Hadjiyiannis’ request for an ambulance to be stationed at the health centre, he said that “we accept and move forward”.

The new centre, Christodoulides added is “proof that the state, local government and the citizens, when they work together, can achieve projects of substance, projects of perspective, with the sole aim of improving the daily life of citizens.”

It will serve 15 communities and its purpose is to offer thousands of our fellow citizens access to high-quality health services near their place of residence, president of the Okypy board Marinos Kallis said.

In addition to GPs, it will have nursing staff, regular specialist doctors, such as a general surgeon, orthopedic and practical surgeon for minor operations and a cardiologist.

Georgopoulou said the request for the health centre was accepted in 2005 by then President Tassos Papadopoulos, and in 2011 they were granted the plot but the economic crisis delayed its implementation for a decade.

The staffing of the ambulance centre at the new, modern location remains on hold, she said.

Addressing Christodoulides, she said the lives of the residents of “degraded western Nicosia are worth no less than the lives of the residents of the urban centres”. The community council, she added, has bought a plot of land adjacent to the health centre to become a rehabilitation centre and is ready to contribute to its construction

Hadjiyiannis said he will undertake to operate the planned dialysis unit, while the state will take care of its staffing.