Nicosia, Cyprus. Parliament on Thursday approved Cyta’s €597.9 million budget for 2026 with 33 votes in favour and adopted an amendment requiring prior scrutiny by the House Finance Committee before 17 senior officer posts can be filled.
Budget figures and revenue forecast
Cyta’s budget forecasts revenues of €450.6 million, including €438 million from services and products, €9.87 million from operating activities and €2.7 million from investment activities.
Debate highlights and investment plans
During the debate, Dipa MP Alekos Tryfonidis welcomed Cyta’s financial results and the implementation of its investment and infrastructure programme. He referred to plans to expand network coverage in mountainous areas and to modernise IT systems.
Amendment on senior officer posts
Tryfonidis reiterated his party’s position against any form of privatisation or denationalisation of the organisation, saying that Cyta had remained under public control following previous efforts to privatise it, with the state continuing to benefit.
Lawmakers adopted his first amendment with 26 votes in favour and 10 against. The provision removes the first 17 of 50 planned senior private law officer positions from immediate approval and stipulates that the House Finance Committee must give the green light before any recruitment process proceeds.
Tryfonidis said that the planned hiring of 50 directors, senior officers and department heads in key posts could amount to indirect privatisation, raising concerns over the scale of the appointments.
Second amendment rejected
A second amendment, which sought to commit an amount related to remuneration and incentive schemes at Cyta, was rejected by the plenary.
Position on Cyta’s public character
Akel MP Andreas Kafkalias said Cyta’s public character had been preserved by those who opposed its privatisation.
What do you think the House Finance Committee’s role should be in overseeing Cyta’s senior appointments?