A heated debate has broken out in Cyprus's parliament. Politicians from different parties strongly criticised the government for spending €800,000 of public money every year to rent a building for the Ministry of Defence and National Guard headquarters. The criticism came during a Thursday meeting where a recent report from the Audit Office was discussed. This argument highlights the long-running frustration that the country's defence leadership still does not have a permanent home.
The main point of anger is the high yearly rent for a building in the capital, Nicosia. This was supposed to be a temporary solution, but it has continued for many years. AKEL party MP Costas Costa expressed the feelings of many critics, calling the situation "unacceptable and a waste of public money." He and other politicians argued that this repeated spending is financially irresponsible. They believe it drains money from the state without creating a long-term asset for the country.
In their defence, ministry officials said they are trying to solve the problem but are delayed by bureaucracy. A representative, Panayiotis Simeou, explained that a location for a new, 22,000-square-metre headquarters in Lakatamia has already been chosen. He also said that all the required technical plans are finished. "We will ask for the project to be classed as a special project so it can be sped up," he stated. He placed the responsibility for moving forward on the finance ministry, which must approve the budget. If approved, construction is expected to take about five years.
However, the Audit Office was sceptical about this timeline. A senior official, Akis Kikas, said he believes the new building will not be ready before the current rental agreement ends. He predicted that the expensive lease "will therefore have to be extended." This suggests that taxpayers will likely have to pay the €800,000 annual rent for several more years.
The debate was part of a wider review of defence management. This review also found problems with records for land purchases and the ongoing misuse of military jeeps for transporting officers, a practice the army says it is trying to "limit." Regarding the incident in Peyia where a helicopter rocket pod fell into a residential area, early investigations suggest "human error." A final report is expected by the end of the year.
This controversy puts the government in a difficult position. While the defence ministry wants to fast-track the new building, MPs are watching closely. They demand real progress to stop what they see as an unreasonable waste of public funds. For the immediate future, it seems likely that the costly rental agreement, which is so strongly opposed, will have to continue.