Paphos mayor gets down and dirty

Paphos Mayor Phedonas Phedonos took matters in his own hands when he hopped on to heavy duty equipment to demolish an old convenience store in his town.

Phedonos, who has been steering efforts to revive downtown and urban areas in his city, operated a bulldozer on Tuesday to demolish a convenience store that was located in an old parking lot.

The project on Fellahoglu Street in the Moutallos area is part of a larger effort to revitalize parts of the city. The specific project will connect the areas between the commercial centre and the local Turkish Cypriot borough.

“The project will contribute to an increase in business at the commercial centre,” the mayor said, adding that the whole project would be complete within 36 weeks with an estimated total cost of €1.5 million.

Phedonos has also been the focus of attention this week after he wrote an open letter accusing local politicians of corruption in an ongoing scandal involving abuse of properties that legally belong to Turkish Cypriots.

The Republic of Cyprus has set up a programme where displaced Greek Cypriots who qualify as beneficiaries could make use of such properties. But the mayor has been on a one-man campaign to shed light onto scandals where political favours allowed non-beneficiaries to take advantage of the properties.

Phedonos has also been speaking out against police corruption and called on law enforcement to do more to combat illegal drugs and drug abuse in local schools.