Onasagoras
The column, in an unsuspecting moment and while all the relevant officials were reassuring you, was the first to write about the impending fiasco of the mammoth projects in Larnaca and warned that what would follow with the project in Vasilikos would be infinitely worse. How we knew this doesn't matter. Unfortunately, our predictions not only came true but as everything now indicates, things are much worse than we feared.
The Terminal project has been terminated. However, our endless struggle will be to resurrect the corpse of the project, like a new Lazarus. Papanastasiou promises to re-resurrect it. Vasilikos proved to be more royal than the King with a cost that would make even kings blush with shame.
The work at Vasilikos should never have been given to the Chinese consortium. -Nikos Christodoulides
OK, enough. I usually hate pointless wordplay, but this time I couldn't resist, so I’ll close with the worst I could think of: Resurrect us, Papanastasiou.
The first question to the dear short guy with the tie: When we say that the project will be completed, can we – clearly and not vaguely – know at what additional cost? Second question: After such an unprecedented fiasco, a pan-European embarrassment (and a mega-scandal), and before an investigation to identify (and hopefully punish) the guilty, does our State have the nerve to discuss the Great Sea Interconnector, which is a multi-billion project? Are you serious? Or to put it more... scholarly, are you serious?
Who and how will guarantee that we won't suffer the same and (much, much) worse? And how exactly will the Cypriot taxpayer be compensated if the project – which will take many years to complete – becomes outdated by new technologies by then? Will people pay hundreds of millions that will end up (literally) at the bottom of the sea? And we want studies to tell us the obvious?
Mr. Drousiotis, president of the Cyprus Consumers Association, expressed complaints that despite repeated efforts and letters on the issue of high prices, there has been no response from the presidential office. Oh, you ungrateful complainers. The president has much more serious problems to deal with, and he’s also doing life coaching for our athletes at the Olympics.
His Olympian calmness is evident, here we suddenly have to face a new Mari in estimated damages and our young Nikos is casually posing and fencing for Instagram purposes.
According to a recent survey, Greece is considered the champion of corruption in Europe. Champions again. Only pride. For Greece, damn it.
As for our little Cyprus, no one should worry. Once the scandals with the big projects are cleared up, we will likely gain points and Cyprus will become a champion. Because, everyone now admits, that if there were Olympic Games for Corruption, we would deservedly hold the first flag in the parade.
[This op-ed was translated and edited by Shemaine Kyriakides]
