Choosing a site for the new central prison is proving rather challenging for the government, which has made the matter more difficult by the slapdash decisions it has taken.

The first site chosen for the prison facility was in Mathiatis, but people of the area immediately expressed their opposition. The so-called Mathiatis historical and environmental heritage protection group was up in arms, saying the plan was ‘unacceptable’ for an “environmentally sensitive and culturally sensitive area” like theirs. Apart from the environmental reasons, there were also “archaeological, urban and special planning reasons” for opposing the project, the protection group said.

It appeared the environmental and cultural sensitivity combined with archaeological and urban reasons did the trick. Within days, the government announced that the prison would be built in another location – Ayios Sozomenos in the municipal area of South Nicosia-Idalion. As expected, the news was not welcomed by the local authority. In fact, they had an additional complaint. Both the mayors of South Nicosia-Idalion and of Latsia-Yeri complained they were informed about the new government plan by news websites. Nobody had consulted them in advance.

Speaking on Politis radio, South Nicosia-Idalion mayor Stavros Hadjiyiannis said the Ayios Sozomenos area was designated as a livestock farming zone and pointed out that the broader area already hosted biological stations, sewage tanks, pig farms and an area for dumping manure. He feared the quality of the air would not be good for the prisoners. More importantly, however, he said residents of the area were upset by the government plan.

Hadjiyiannis said the mayors of the two municipalities had written to the president seeking a meeting, while also demanding the immediate revocation of the decision. Considering how easily the government changed its decision when faced by the mild protests of the Mathiatis residents, Hadjiyiannis must be optimistic they will keep the new prison away from Ayios Sozomenos.

The issue is that the government has gone about this matter in the wrong way, and the two mayors are more than justified to complain about not being consulted. This is a big project that will have an impact on their communities and not only should they have been consulted, but the government should have proposed incentives for them. For example, it could improve the area’s road network, which according to Hadjiyiannis is congested, and fund facilities that would benefit the community. This is how the NIMBY (not in my back yard) mentality is dealt with in most countries.

The consultations are imperative before the government announces a final plan. Justice ministry officials should have had talks with the mayors and established what the government could provide in exchange for having the prison in their area. If the mayors still held out, the government would be in a much stronger position than it is in now.