Disy leader criticises budget, urges targeted support and investment

Nicosia, Cyprus. Disy leader Annita Demetriou criticised the government’s proposed budget on Wednesday, arguing that it failed to meet current challenges and favoured higher earners over people with lower incomes. At a press conference, she called for targeted support, public-sector reform and greater investment.

Budget priorities challenged

Demetriou described the government’s fourth budget as focused on handling existing problems rather than preparing for the future, saying it “lacks a development and reform vision”. She also criticised its inflexible expenditure, across-the-board increases and measures that were not targeted.

She contrasted today’s pressures from inflation and expensive everyday living with earlier challenges involving joblessness, government debt and economic instability. Positive economic indicators would not remove those pressures, she said, adding that economic growth alone could not resolve the expense of housing or establishing a family.

Digital investment and public-sector reform

Setting out Disy’s priorities, Demetriou called for increased investment in government digitisation and the digital economy to raise productivity. She also advocated a smaller civil service, better services for people and businesses, and lower bureaucracy-related costs.

Greater funding for research, innovation, development schemes and infrastructure was needed to improve living standards and bring down living costs, she said.

Calls to accelerate projects

Demetriou argued that major infrastructure and other projects were being cancelled or progressing slowly instead of being accelerated. Faster delivery of development projects would create more jobs, raise incomes and improve the economy’s competitiveness over the medium term, she said.

Efforts to tackle traffic congestion and development works by local authorities had also fallen behind, she added.