The Council of Ministers has decided to launch a third administrative inquiry into the improvement works of the road network within the Akamas National Forest Park, following a proposal by the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Maria Panagiotou.
The new inquiry has been entrusted to the Director General of the Ministry of Interior, Elikos Ilia.
The Minister, after carefully examining the findings and overall conclusions of the previous inquiry, which was submitted to her on January 17, 2024, concluded that it was incomplete as it did not address most of the questions raised and fell outside the scope of the inquiry’s terms of reference.
Informing the Council of Ministers, Panagiotou stated that “where answers are given, they are deemed inadequate and clearly require further investigation to draw reliable and well-founded conclusions.”
Under these circumstances, the Minister decided that the same inquiry should be continued by another competent person, in view of the need to conduct a proper/complete investigation that documents the responsibilities, where and if they appear to exist, with new, specific questions.
To this end, the Minister intends to entrust a new person with the conduct of the aforementioned administrative inquiry from scratch.
The new inquiry is estimated to be completed within eight weeks and no later than May 10, 2024.
Upon completion of the administrative inquiry, the Minister will subsequently inform the Council of Ministers of the findings and final conclusions/findings.
Depending on the findings, the Minister is expected to take further steps. Depending on the outcome, a disciplinary inquiry may even be ordered.
It is recalled that the former Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Petros Xenophontos, had ordered, within the framework of his powers and responsibilities, the conduct of an administrative inquiry into possible violations of the procedures or/and works that were followed for the purposes of implementing the Project concerning the improvement of the Road Network within the Akamas National Forest Park.
It is noted that on December 5, 2023, the report of the administrative inquiry into the construction of the road network of the Akamas National Forest Park was submitted and, based on its conclusions, the former Minister Petros Xenophontos decided to further investigate the matter.
In the context of the Council of Ministers’ decision of December 21, 2023, concerning changes regarding the implementation of the works of the Sustainable Development Plan of the Akamas National Forest Park, it was decided to continue and complete the administrative inquiry by January 15, 2024.
