Petrol station owners will hold a protest outside the Presidential Palace today, July 21st,, demanding that the President of the Republic intervene over the Transport Minister’s decree requiring the immobilisation of vehicles that fail to meet ADR safety requirements.
Police said the protesters will gather at 10:00 in the GSP car park before moving in an organised march towards the Presidential Palace via Iosif Ch. Iosif street and Athalassas avenue.
Police said they may introduce temporary traffic measures in the area because of the protest.
Savvas Prokopiou, President of the Pancyprian Association of Liquid Fuel Station Owners, said on Monday that the decree would require 80-90% of tankers to be immobilised.
He said procedures exist that must be carried out, but they take time, and once the inspection process is complete, further time is needed to replace and modify the vehicles concerned. Station owners fully accept the decree in principle, he said, but are calling for the President’s direct intervention at this stage because they failed to reach an agreement with the Minister, arguing that imposing a decree does not in itself guarantee safety.
“There are no facilities in place to implement this decree,” he added, noting that no authority currently exists to certify the tankers and that one needs to be set up immediately.