Cyprus-Forum.com

[Jerry]

More interestingly, Prime-Minister Soyer and Finance Minister Uzun held a press conference a couple of days ago in which they gave a very stark message: Turkey is giving the TRNC 600 million New Turkish Lira this year, and will not give a penny more. Since they can't get any more money from Turkey, belt tightening measures need to be implemented.

It looks like there will be a very hot summer in the north of Cyprus this year.

So when we have two "equal" federated States following a solution will this subsidy from Turkey stop. Will the wealthier "equal" State have to pay the subsidy or will the EU pick up the bill?

I think the pseudostate that goes under the name of the TRNC is too small to stand on its own feet. That is why it has to be bailed out by Turkey; that is also why Turkey gets to call all the shots there.

In my view, if there is a settlement the economy of the north will start to integrate with that of the south. Many branches of the economy will expand and there will no longer be any need for subsidies. Detailed economic studies have shown that reunification will benefit the economies of both halves of the island.

Economic integration cannot happen overnight, and if the GCs aren't entirely happy with a settlement it could take years. Someone will have to pay the wages of the thousands of "TRNC" government employees during the transition period.

[Kikapu]

There will be general strike on monday at TRNC.
33 Trade unions which are against the draft law on the sliding scale system – will hold a general strike on Monday.
In a joint statement today, the unions said they will continue their struggle until the draft law is withdrawn.
Unions accused the government of trying to reduce the income of people receiving salaries from the state.

Monday morning i will be at strike tent .

Birlik mücadele dayanışma .

Halil, excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean by "draft law on the sliding scale system".? The only term on "draft laws" I know, relates to National Military Service in the USA, a compulsory service that is. Somehow I don't think this strike in the north is about Military Service, is it.??

[Kikapu]

More interestingly, Prime-Minister Soyer and Finance Minister Uzun held a press conference a couple of days ago in which they gave a very stark message: Turkey is giving the TRNC 600 million New Turkish Lira this year, and will not give a penny more. Since they can't get any more money from Turkey, belt tightening measures need to be implemented.

It looks like there will be a very hot summer in the north of Cyprus this year.

So when we have two "equal" federated States following a solution will this subsidy from Turkey stop. Will the wealthier "equal" State have to pay the subsidy or will the EU pick up the bill?

I think the pseudostate that goes under the name of the TRNC is too small to stand on its own feet. That is why it has to be bailed out by Turkey; that is also why Turkey gets to call all the shots there.

In my view, if there is a settlement the economy of the north will start to integrate with that of the south. Many branches of the economy will expand and there will no longer be any need for subsidies. Detailed economic studies have shown that reunification will benefit the economies of both halves of the island.

Economic integration cannot happen overnight, and if the GCs aren't entirely happy with a settlement it could take years. Someone will have to pay the wages of the thousands of "TRNC" government employees during the transition period.

It appears that about 30% of employment in the north is in the public sector, which is extremely "Top Heavy", therefore, many positions will need to be let go. The public sector does not make money, therefore they are always a "drain" on the economy. Some of these "pencil pushing fat cats" will need to get a real job and off the "government's welfare system" once a settlement is reached. At best, the economy of the north is nothing but a "false economy" and without Turkey's constant infusion of cash, it will end up on the ROCKS.

[Tim Drayton]

More interestingly, Prime-Minister Soyer and Finance Minister Uzun held a press conference a couple of days ago in which they gave a very stark message: Turkey is giving the TRNC 600 million New Turkish Lira this year, and will not give a penny more. Since they can't get any more money from Turkey, belt tightening measures need to be implemented.

It looks like there will be a very hot summer in the north of Cyprus this year.

So when we have two "equal" federated States following a solution will this subsidy from Turkey stop. Will the wealthier "equal" State have to pay the subsidy or will the EU pick up the bill?

I think the pseudostate that goes under the name of the TRNC is too small to stand on its own feet. That is why it has to be bailed out by Turkey; that is also why Turkey gets to call all the shots there.

In my view, if there is a settlement the economy of the north will start to integrate with that of the south. Many branches of the economy will expand and there will no longer be any need for subsidies. Detailed economic studies have shown that reunification will benefit the economies of both halves of the island.

Economic integration cannot happen overnight, and if the GCs aren't entirely happy with a settlement it could take years. Someone will have to pay the wages of the thousands of "TRNC" government employees during the transition period.

PRIO calculates the peace dividend to be 1.8 billion euros annually:

http://www.financialmirror.com/fm_image ... nglish.pdf

Currently, Turkey is subsidising the north to the tune of 300 million euros per year.

If this is true, we are talking win - win.

[Tim Drayton]

More interestingly, Prime-Minister Soyer and Finance Minister Uzun held a press conference a couple of days ago in which they gave a very stark message: Turkey is giving the TRNC 600 million New Turkish Lira this year, and will not give a penny more. Since they can't get any more money from Turkey, belt tightening measures need to be implemented.

It looks like there will be a very hot summer in the north of Cyprus this year.

So when we have two "equal" federated States following a solution will this subsidy from Turkey stop. Will the wealthier "equal" State have to pay the subsidy or will the EU pick up the bill?

I think the pseudostate that goes under the name of the TRNC is too small to stand on its own feet. That is why it has to be bailed out by Turkey; that is also why Turkey gets to call all the shots there.

In my view, if there is a settlement the economy of the north will start to integrate with that of the south. Many branches of the economy will expand and there will no longer be any need for subsidies. Detailed economic studies have shown that reunification will benefit the economies of both halves of the island.

Economic integration cannot happen overnight, and if the GCs aren't entirely happy with a settlement it could take years. Someone will have to pay the wages of the thousands of "TRNC" government employees during the transition period.

It appears that about 30% of employment in the north is in the public sector, which is extremely "Top Heavy", therefore, many positions will need to be let go. The public sector does not make money, therefore they are always a "drain" on the economy. Some of these "pencil pushing fat cats" will need to get a real job and off the "government's welfare system" once a settlement is reached. At best, the economy of the north is nothing but a "false economy" and without Turkey's constant infusion of cash, it will end up on the ROCKS.

There are also a lot of very able and hard-working people in the north, and the current system holds them back. A settlement will be very bad for those who hold "false jobs" in a system based on patronage, but good for those with real entrepreneurial talent.

[Tim Drayton]

There will be general strike on monday at TRNC.
33 Trade unions which are against the draft law on the sliding scale system – will hold a general strike on Monday.
In a joint statement today, the unions said they will continue their struggle until the draft law is withdrawn.
Unions accused the government of trying to reduce the income of people receiving salaries from the state.

Monday morning i will be at strike tent .

Birlik mücadele dayanışma .

Halil, excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean by "draft law on the sliding scale system".? The only term on "draft laws" I know, relates to National Military Service in the USA, a compulsory service that is. Somehow I don't think this strike in the north is about Military Service, is it.??

He means "draught law" (yasa tasarısı). Or are you taking the pee here?

[Kikapu]

There will be general strike on monday at TRNC.
33 Trade unions which are against the draft law on the sliding scale system – will hold a general strike on Monday.
In a joint statement today, the unions said they will continue their struggle until the draft law is withdrawn.
Unions accused the government of trying to reduce the income of people receiving salaries from the state.

Monday morning i will be at strike tent .

Birlik mücadele dayanışma .

Halil, excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean by "draft law on the sliding scale system".? The only term on "draft laws" I know, relates to National Military Service in the USA, a compulsory service that is. Somehow I don't think this strike in the north is about Military Service, is it.??

He means "draught law" (yasa tasarısı). Or are you taking the pee here?

No Tim, I was very serious, so thanks for clearing up my "confusion".!

[Tim Drayton]

I translated an interview given in 2006 by mainland Turkish academic Ayhan Aktar to a quality Turkish newspaper about Cyprus. In it he makes some interesting observations about the TRNC economy:

Cyprus used to be one of the world’s tourism centres. But this situation changed after 1974. What is the state of tourism in the Greek Cypriot side?

Think, 2.7 million tourists come to South Cyprus with its population of 750,000. Tourism isn’t like that in the North. Our Turkish Cypriot friends complain about the embargoes placed on them, but if these restrictions are lifted will they really be able to satisfy a tourist coming from London with the tourism infrastructure that they have put in place? Turkey has exported the worst kind of statism to Cyprus. The total population of North Cyprus is 260,000. 145,000 of these are Turkish Cypriots. Those who came from Turkey some time ago have also been given Cyprus passports. When these are added the figure amounts to 160,000. The remaining 100,000 of the population are people who have come from Turkey. Today 30-35,000 of these 145,000 Turkish Cypriots are civil servants or retired civil servants. North Cyprus is like a huge Sumerbank, a big state enterprise. The political structure, in order to legitimise its own existence, over thirty years from 1974 to 2004 distributed Greek Cypriot property and operated a plunder economy. A strange capital accumulation took place. As a result there are as many as twelve nightclubs in the fields along the road from Nicosia to Famagusta. Also gambling tourism has become established in the North.

[...]

The Turkish Cypriot side is much poorer than the Greek Cypriot side. OK, does this Turkish Cypriot poverty scare the Greek Cypriots?

The Turks are no longer poor, either. Figures show that the TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) economy has grown by 46% over the past two years and that per capita national income has risen to 11,000 dollars. Today in North Cyprus construction work covers five million square metres. North Cyprus is now a massive construction site. This is an explosion that followed the rejection of the Annan Plan. In the words of writer Mehmet Hasgüler, we are witnessing the second period of plunder in Cyprus. This is not wealth that is based on production and the morality of capitalism. This is along the lines of a lottery economy. It’s a situation where you keep getting money from the instant lottery. Now villas are being built on Greek Cypriot fields. The British are selling their houses in the South and buying much cheaper villas in the North. Weekly English newspapers are also now starting to appear in the North.


http://www.timdrayton.com/a17.html

[Kikapu]

More interestingly, Prime-Minister Soyer and Finance Minister Uzun held a press conference a couple of days ago in which they gave a very stark message: Turkey is giving the TRNC 600 million New Turkish Lira this year, and will not give a penny more. Since they can't get any more money from Turkey, belt tightening measures need to be implemented.

It looks like there will be a very hot summer in the north of Cyprus this year.

So when we have two "equal" federated States following a solution will this subsidy from Turkey stop. Will the wealthier "equal" State have to pay the subsidy or will the EU pick up the bill?

I think the pseudostate that goes under the name of the TRNC is too small to stand on its own feet. That is why it has to be bailed out by Turkey; that is also why Turkey gets to call all the shots there.

In my view, if there is a settlement the economy of the north will start to integrate with that of the south. Many branches of the economy will expand and there will no longer be any need for subsidies. Detailed economic studies have shown that reunification will benefit the economies of both halves of the island.

Economic integration cannot happen overnight, and if the GCs aren't entirely happy with a settlement it could take years. Someone will have to pay the wages of the thousands of "TRNC" government employees during the transition period.

It appears that about 30% of employment in the north is in the public sector, which is extremely "Top Heavy", therefore, many positions will need to be let go. The public sector does not make money, therefore they are always a "drain" on the economy. Some of these "pencil pushing fat cats" will need to get a real job and off the "government's welfare system" once a settlement is reached. At best, the economy of the north is nothing but a "false economy" and without Turkey's constant infusion of cash, it will end up on the ROCKS.

There are also a lot of very able and hard-working people in the north, and the current system holds them back. A settlement will be very bad for those who hold "false jobs" in a system based on patronage, but good for those with real entrepreneurial talent.

There are also a lot of very able and hard-working people in the north, and the current system holds them back.

I have no doubt in what you say is very true Tim. Just like in many former Communist countries, that the talented individuals were "hamstrung" with the condition that prevented them exploring their full potentials. Look at them now, and the same can be true in the north.

[tessintrnc]

Speaking with Cypriot friends regarding the economy, one of the biggest problems are the casinos. It is said that no money from these lucrative enterprises goes into the TRNC economy. The money all goes directly back to Turkey (to the casino bosses), all food and drink is provided (with accomodation and women if reqd) within the hotel itself so that even local restaraunts do not benefit from the "big spenders" from Turkey - who, unable to gamble back home come over here weekends, high days and holidays for a gambling fest. Run by Turkish, FOR (mainly) Turkish - they do absolutely ZERO for the Turkish Cypriot community. Something needs to be done, and soon, before its too late.