Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Giorgos Papanastasiou visited on Friday businesses in fire-stricken communities of the Limassol district and assured that in terms of equipment and raw materials, they will be compensated as soon as possible.
Speaking to reporters in Agios Ambrosios community, where he visited a small business of a contractor whose machinery was destroyed by the fire, Papanastasiou said that the affected person will be compensated “starting next week with an advance payment, so that he can start fixing things that were lost.”
He added that afterwards he will fill in the necessary forms which will go through very quick procedures and he will receive the next installment and then the final installment, until he manages to replace all his machines.
Asked about the number of affected businesses, he said that the Ministry of Interior is still working on this issue and noted that “the direction that has been given by President Christodoulides is that we must immediately start helping people financially so that they can start the recovery of their businesses, start producing, and return to normality.”
The Minister also said that during his visit to the Agios Ambrosios community council, an elderly man had gone to pay his electricity bill, as he was concerned that otherwise his electricity supply would be cut off. “We explained to him about the Electricity Authority Cyprus announcement, that he was not obliged now to pay a bill of up to 500 euro and that electricity would not be cut off to any premises in the affected areas, regardless of whether there are previous bills and payment difficulties,” Papanastasiou said.
Concluding, he said that he told the people there that elderly people could need some help from younger ones who have access to electronics, mobile phones and are informed about the announcements made.
