Front Page Headlines
Not a support package but an imposed one
Many circles heavily criticized the ‘relief scheme’ prepared by the government for shopkeepers and businesses. Business owners argue that being left with the option of borrowing money is not ‘support’ and that this will only create a new burden for the people.
- 1 new case, total cases 70 – While the total number of cases rose to 70 in the north, one new positive case out of 85 tests was recorded. Yesterday’s (Tuesday) case was recorded in Gönyeli (Guenyeli) making it the third one from the Nicosia suburb.
- 32 new cases in the south, one death – Covid-19 took yet another life in south Cyprus. An 83-year-old man lost his life. 32 new cases were confirmed.
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The business community in a cheque crisis
Owners of businesses whose activities were shut within the framework of measures adopted by the Council of Ministers rushed to the banks to cash the cheques in their hands. Most of the cheques turned out to be duds and had “insufficient amount” stamped on them. The Council of Ministers, in an attempt to overcome the issue which caused a major crisis, came up with a new solution. It extended the 15-day grace period given to issuers to 90 days.
- Street curfew official came into force
Municipalities took on the burden
The Mayor of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality (LTB) Mehmet Harmancı and the Mayor of Alsancak (Karavas) Fırat Ataser evaluated the situation concerning Covid-19 in the different as well as the government’s struggle on the ground in a programme aired on Havadis Web TV. Harmancı complained that the authorities failed to guide or inform the municipalities in any way. He said they were acting according to the guidelines set by the Turkish Cypriot Doctors’ Association and the World Health Organisation (WHO). “Unfortunately, the government is displaying serious weaknesses when it comes to organising itself on the ground,” Harmancı said. Alsancak (Karavas) Mayor Ataser said the authorities failed to mention the number of cases in Alsancak (Karavas) when giving out the distribution of cases according to the areas. He said there were eight cases in the Lapta (Lapithos)-Alsancak (Karavas) and Karşıyaka (Vasileia) area.
- 332 cases, 9 dead – Number of cases in the south yesterday (Tuesday) 32, one in the north. A total of 7397 tests were carried out in the south, 262 tested positive. 1262 tests were carried out in the north with 70 of them testing positive. One person lost his life.
- Waiting period for bounced cheques: 90 days
Those who claimed nothing would happen to them were proven wrong
Dozens of people were detained by police on the first day of a night-time street curfew. Both locals and foreign nationals who thought police would not be inspecting the curfew were surprised by the heavy police presence on the streets.
- The figure rose to 21 – Well known Turkish Cypriot Doctor Tahsin Bilginer’s wife Samime Bilginer and Safi Levent lost their fight to coronavirus in the UK.
- Call for urgent measures – While the issue of issuing pardons to inmates who committed petty crimes has been raised in Turkey and South Cyprus, all eyes have turned to the TRNC government.
- 40 patients in good condition –Total number of cases in the north rose to 70 with one new positive case.
- Loss of life reaches eight – Number of cases in the south has jumped to 262 with 32 new cases.
- Death toll reaches 214 – 2704 new cases were confirmed in Turkey bringing the total number of cases to 13,513.
332 cases across the island, nine dead
While 32 new cases were detected in the south where more and faster tests are being carried out, only one new case was recorded in the north yesterday (Tuesday). The Health Minister Ali Pilli said that 85 people had been tested yesterday (Tuesday) and that only one person had test positive. He added that a total of 262 tests had been carried out to date. The total number of cases in the north reached 70, one dead.
- Cuffs for home quarantined – It was announced that those under home quarantine in the south will be placed with electronic cuffs.
- Meeting at the edge of the quarantine zone in Karpaz (Karpasia) – The Karpaz (Karpasia) Coordination Council held an open-air meeting at the edge of the quarantine zone.
Main News
One new case confirmed, three ICU patients recovering
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Afrika
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
Things were looking up in the north on Tuesday with only one new case confirmed and news that the condition of three people in ICU had improved.
Announcing the news in his daily update on Bayrak, Turkish Cypriot Health Minister Ali Pilli said the single case confirmed on Tuesday was in Gönyeli (Guenyeli), a family member of another individual who had tested positive earlier.
The latest case brought the total tally to 70
Pilli added that 85 tests had been carried out on Tuesday and 1362 to date.
He also said a group of German tourists who had been kept under quarantine for 14 days would be flown home at 2 am on Wednesday.
Pilli pointed out that no healthcare workers or supermarket employees had tested positive for coronavirus.
Also on Tuesday, Deputy Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay, during a radio programme on Radio Mayıs, said the deceased German tourist would either be sent to Germany with the flight repatriating the remaining German tourists or would be buried in the north following the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Director of the Institute of Neurology and Genetics (Cing) in the south and the member of the bicommunal Technical Committee on Health, Leonidas Phylactou said on Tuesday that his institute was carrying out 400 – 500 tests a day.
Phylactou noted that the bicommunal committee is in daily communication with the Turkish Cypriot authorities regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are trying to overcome some of the problems experienced in the north – mainly related to medicine supply,” Phylactou said and noted that some medicines have already been sent to the north.
A Turkish Airlines flight will take off from Istanbul airport at 3 pm on Wednesday to repatriate Turkish Cypriots stranded in Turkey.
A second flight from Ankara will take off at 1 pm on April 4 April.
Among those who will return home are the hundred or so Turkish Cypriot cadets currently enrolled in military academies in Turkey.
Özersay, in a social media post on Tuesday, said the problem of issuing passes from the Turkish armed forces for the cadets had been solved, allowing those wishing to come home to return to the North.
“I have just spoken with the Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar on the issue…I am pleased to announce we have managed to overcome the problem, which had become a main source of concern,” Özersay said.
In the meantime, the details of the night curfew as well as other provisions on restrictions as part of measures to contain the spread of the virus were published in the official gazette dated 31 March.
In a statement issued from the Interior Ministry, it is reported that anyone who violates the curfew could be sentenced up to a year in prison as well as a monetary fine.
Dozens of people who violated the curfew on the first night it came into force were detained by police who placed tight controls in all areas.
In a separate development, Members of the Karpaz (Karpasia) Coordination Committee tasked with the duty of coordinating affairs in the 15 villages which in full lock-down, met in Ziyamet (Leonnarisso) on Tuesday.
Turkish Cypriot Education Minister Nazım Çavuşoğşlu, who chaired the meeting, listened to the mayors and officials from the 15 villages under quarantine and conveyed the government’s directives.
Çavuşoğlu told reporters that panic in the area had started to slowly subside following the operations launched by the crisis committee.
He said that the people in the area were abiding very well to the quarantine rules.
Çavuşoğlu said that they were doing their best to ensure that economic activity in the area continued but added that this was not an easy task due to the quarantine in place.
He said that many people had lost their income or livelihood as a result of not being able to leave the area.
“The government is prepared to do its best to meet the needs of the people in the area,” he said.
The head of the committee, Kemal Deniz Dana, said the Karpaz (Karpasia) quarantine could set a model example for other areas if the need emerges.
He said that a doctor has been assigned to the area.
Asked how long the quarantine will remain in place, Dana said that that depended on experts from the health ministry.
New economic relief initiatives announced
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Afrika
Economy, Internal Security, EU Matters
OVERVIEW
“Take your loan to make salary payments and cover your expenses,” Prime Minister Ersin Tatar told a press conference on Tuesday during which he unveiled a new relief package for the businesses.
Promoting the new low-interest loan scheme, Tatar said the goal of the scheme was to assist the businesses suffering from liquidity problems.
“A business will be able to take out a loan within 45 days and then use the money to pay its loans and salaries of its employees,” Tatar said.
He said ₺1bn had been allocated in total.
Tatar added the scheme was a low-interest loan with 12 per cent interest rate.
Three per cent of the interest will be subsidised by the government. This scheme will have a six-month grace period and the businesses will have to pay back the amount in one year.
Tatar also announced other schemes such as ₺50m the Development Bank in the north was offering businesses through four different loan packages varying on the amount to be taken by the businesses.
The Development Bank scheme will also have a six-month grace period and the loan can be paid back in 36 months.
He added that the third scheme was directed at the retailers and shopkeepers.
Tatar explained that the payment plan will be spread over five years with 4.5 per cent interest through loans given out by the Halk Bank.
This scheme has a cap of ₺225,000 (€31,000).
“With limited funds and resources, we are working to keep the Turkish Cypriot economy afloat during this time of crisis,” Tatar said, urging Turkish Cypriots to maintain solidarity.
Tatar concluded by noting that the cabinet, once their preparations were completed, would be holding bilateral talks with Ankara for new measures and proposed remedies.
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot Economy and Energy Minister Hasan Taçoy on Tuesday warned everyone that the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic will result in shrinkage in the retail market.
Speaking to Kıbrıs Postası web TV, Taçoy said the cabinet will try to inject cash into the market to minimize the effects of the crisis.
Also asking everyone to be prepared for a long period of recession, he said the government was being cautious.
“We have projects for the agriculture sector but there are also dud cheques, closed down businesses and more. We have to assess all and try to create a business environment which will re-spin the wheels of the economy,” Taçoy concluded.
Businesses in the meantime, heavily criticized the initiatives undertaken by the government for businesses, claiming that proposing that establishments borrow money to stay afloat was not offer relief but a further financial burden.
The head of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Shopkeepers and Artisans Mahmut Kanber on Tuesday said that the government’s priority at this stage should not have been to save the public-sector but the public.
“Interest rates are below five per cent in many countries, even zero in others. Shopkeepers have been sitting at home for weeks wondering how they’re going to pay rent and other utility bills. All the economic measures adopted by the government have put businesses at great risk and are imposing,” he argued.
The head of the Turkish Cypriot Businessmen’s Association (İŞAD) Enver Mamülcü said, “we were waiting for interest rates to be below five per cent but we were met with nine per cent.”
Late on Tuesday night, the cabinet issued a decree extending the waiting or grace-period for dud cheques which is 15-days to 90 days.
According to the decree, all the cheques submitted to be cashed until 30 June 2020, and in the case whereby the cheque does not have the required funds in the issuer’s account, the legal grace-period of 15 days granted to the issuer to pay the amount due has been extended to 90 days.
The decree came after many business owners rushed to the banks on Monday and Tuesday to cash-in cheques only to see that many bounced back.
In a separate development, the municipalities in the north on Tuesday rejected the government’s plans to cut 25 per cent cut from state contributions as part of its economic measures.
The Turkish Cypriot Municipalities’ Union which convened on Tuesday presented the government with a list of decisions, demands and proposals.
The municipalities in a written statement said the 25 per cent cut was unacceptable, reminding that there were in the frontline in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus.
They demanded that the government revises the decision as many municipalities were struggling financially as it was without cuts being introduced.
However, the municipalities stated that if such a cut was unavoidable, the finance ministry should endorse and provide guarantees for municipalities to draw out loans from banks to meet the cuts made.
They added that the municipalities union would pay the interest rate of the loans.
The municipalities also proposed that they collect water money from the military and transfer all revenues from traffic fines to municipal budgets.
They also proposed that a six-month grace period be given to municipalities concerning payments to the State Water Works as it will not be possible to collect water money during this period.
Postponement of bank loan payments of all municipalities for three months was also proposed.
Among the decisions adopted by the municipalities, the union was suspending all social, cultural, artistic, sports activities and festivals until the end of 2020 as well as freezing all financial contributions given out to clubs, associations and societies by the municipality.
A decision was also taken not to cut the water supply to households for three months.
Also on Tuesday, Bayram Karaman, head of the Tourism Workers’ union demanded that the government should start paying “unemployment welfare” to all tourism sector workers regardless of their nationalities.
“The government has closed down the hotels as a result of the pandemic. The hotel personnel cannot work any longer. Therefore, the government must start paying unemployment salaries to all the workers registered at the Social Security Department without further delay,” Karaman concluded.
Republican Turkish Party CTP) Armağan Candan in a post on social media on Tuesday said that the reports in the Turkish Cypriot media that the European Union (EU) was discriminating between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots were not true.
He said that the EU had not given €700m in emergency relief assistance to the south as claimed by various organisations and media outlets.
“The EU provided €5m to the Turkish Cypriot side and €6.6m to the Greek Cypriot side. The €700m that the reports are talking about is the Republic of Cyprus’s own resources. There is no discrimination between the north and the south. The issue is being distorted for political purposes. The EU is currently working on a €35bn support package. It has yet to be clarified but they’re working on it,” he said.
Candan said they will continue to pursue the matter and ensure that the Turkish Cypriot community receives its share of financial assistance.