Addressing an event organised by SELK, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus, in Limassol, Georgiades said that Cyprus has come a long way and its economy has rebounded strongly and is registering a satisfactory recovery, but made it clear that “there is more which needs to be done.

“In fact let me say that we are neither satisfied not complacent with what has been achieved so far. We know that we can do even better,” the Minister noted.

“Firstly, we have still not been able to fully alleviate the consequences of the financial crisis,” he said, noting that non-performing loans are still a major legacy problem of the banking sector and that unemployment, although declining, it remains high.

He also said thatmore could be done to cut back on bureaucracy and to simplify procedures and acknowledged that the economy and key productive sectors, even the well-established ones like tourism, have a significant potential to grow more.

“So we must continue and this is exactly what we intend to do,” Georgiades said and expressed hope that the Parliament will be an ally in this effort. 

“It should be understood that holding back proposals for structural reform does not hurt the government; it hurts the country and it hurts our people,” he said.

The Minister noted that “we should resist the temptation to go back to the false policies of the past.”

He said that he remains optimistic about the prospects of the economy, but “this optimism is conditional on us learning from the mistakes of the past and ensuring that they are never repeated.”

Source: Sigma Live