BAILIFFS seized several state-owned vehicles in Paphos on Tuesday following writs filed by owners of land appropriated for the Paphos/Polis highway extension who claim they have not been paid for their land.
The bailiffs took three vehicles belonging to the Paphos Public Works Department, two more from the Land Registry and the Forestry departments, while two cars were seized from the Electro-Mechanical Service Department.
The vehicles were transferred to a fenced-off area at the Paphos District Court and could be auctioned off unless the debts are settled.
Due to the appalling state of the state’s finances, the government is looking to downsize or cancel non-urgent projects and return expropriated land to its owners, providing they haven’t been paid.
Land that was appropriated for various public projects, including the Paphos-Polis highway extension and the Pentakomo Technological Park and it has been estimated that the state owes around €570 million to various landowners.
The government appropriated the land for the highway extension in 2006.
This is like something from The Two Ronnies. Here I am wanting to pay my IPT and transfer fees to the Land Registry and they can’t get themselves organized to issue title deeds and get some much needed revenue.
A few cars are just spit in the eye towards €570 million, what about all those properties government officials are renting for peanuts.
Good for them, I say.
And what an outrage, especially when you read “the government is looking to downsize or cancel non-urgent projects and return expropriated land to its owners, providing they haven’t been paid.” they deliberately don’t pay, then – when the going gets tough – the ones not savvy enough to take their own action, simply, after several years!’ ‘get their land back’. What a kack-handed way to do State business!
If landowners are compensated I hope it will be at a the rate which they might have been able to sell the land in 2006/7/8 and not it’s paltry value now.
As regards public service vehicles – I parked in Limassol a couple of weeks ago to travel to Larnaca by bus. In the old port bus bay vehicles were illegally parked including public works trucks. I commented to a chap and lady waiting there (in Greek) that the police should sweep the area and fine each of the vehicles illegally parked a hundred or two Euro and in no time our economic woe’s would be solved. The reply was that these are government vehicles so no one can touch them. It seems it is ingrained into the mindset that officialdom is above the law and that must be challenged and changed. Glad to see that in Paphos officialdom is not above the law, assuming no one intervenes and demands they are returned in the meantime.