The Mayor of Ayia Napa, Christos Zannetou, is hiding to avoid the responsibilities that correspond to him for the illegal construction of a monastery in the protected area of Cape Greco, in violation of current environmental, urban planning, and construction legislation.
The Minister of Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou, places responsibility on the Mayor of Ayia Napa for the illegal construction of a monastery in areas of the Natura 2000 Network.
In a recent intervention on state radio, Ioannou explained that the legislation forces the relevant services of the Ministry of Interior into time-consuming procedures through the judicial route to lift the illegality, while, on the contrary, the Road and Building Regulation Law allows for immediate demolition.
The Minister of Interior revealed that on Wednesday he contacted the bishop of Constantia and Ammochostos, through the director of the Church’s Audit Department, Yiannis Charilaou.
The bishop is said to have promised demolition and restoration of the area if the hierarchical appeal is not successful.
It is noted that the Mayor of Ayia Napa has not taken any measures provided by the legislation against the Metropolitan of Constantia and Ammochostos, who illegally erects a monastery within the protected area of Cape Greco.
For two whole weeks, and while all competent Authorities (Ministries/Departments/Services) have taken drastic measures for the immediate termination of construction works and submission of necessary demolition and restoration plans, the competent local Authority, based on the Road and Building Regulation Law, has not made any public statement on the matter.
It is characteristic that the Mayor of Ayia Napa has been repeatedly called upon by several journalists and various media outlets to comment on the issue but has refused to do so.
Furthermore, as it appears, the entire political elite in the free area of Ammochostos participates in the Ecclesiastical Committee of the Bishopric of Constantia and Ammochostos and holds the role of advisor to the respective bishop.
The heads of local Authorities, generally competent in cases of illegal construction, according to the Road and Building Regulation Law, participate in the Ecclesiastical Committee of the local metropolitan. Therefore, a conflict of interest arises.
Below are the names of all the lay members of the Ecclesiastical Committee of the bishop of Constantia and Ammochostos as they appear on the official website:
Lay members: Yiannis Karousos, Dr. Simos Ioannou, Theodoros Pyrillis, Giorgos Takkas, Andros Karagiannis, Christos Zannettou, Zina Lysandrou Panagidi, Theodoros Takkas, Michalis Tziortas, Dimitrios Skaros, Adamo Hatzichristodoulou, Georgios Karoullas, Vassilios Nikolaidis, and Panagiotis Konstantinou.
In another development, regarding the conduct of a lottery and the sale of lottery tickets by the Church of Panagia Ayia Napa, which is under the jurisdiction of the Bishopric of Constantia and Ammochostos, without the required permits from the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Finance, respectively, for the economic support of completing the Monastery of Agios Efraim and Agia Ekaterini, the Ministry of Finance took specific actions.
Specifically, with actions of the Ministry of Finance towards the respective bishop, assurances were obtained that the said lottery has been withdrawn.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance proceeded with other actions, including sending a relevant letter to the Bishopric of Constantia and Ammochostos, simultaneously notifying the Police.
It is noted that the Church of Panagia Ayia Napa issued lottery tickets with prizes, among others, including the gold pendant of Saint Christopher, with the draw taking place on Easter Tuesday, while the same lottery includes a donation with contributions to specific bank accounts for fundraising.
