Acting Paphos Mayor Angelos Onisiforou has announced that a full cleanup and restoration plan for the Minoos area — known as Psarohori in Kato Paphos — will begin on Wednesday, following what he described as a shocking deterioration of the site since its inauguration in 2021.
In a public statement, Onisiforou said people are sleeping rough under trees, in bushes, in parks and in abandoned Turkish Cypriot properties in the area, under conditions he said are incompatible with a European city.
Offices and cafeterias built with public funds remain closed and unused by Paphos Municipality, he added, and have been vandalised and converted into makeshift shelters. Accumulated rubbish, foul smells and damaged infrastructure complete what he described as a scene of full degradation.
The approximately 10,000-square-metre site includes buildings, green spaces and a playground, and sits adjacent to significant archaeological sites and tourist attractions drawing thousands of visitors annually. The mosque in the area has also been affected, Onisiforou said, and public toilets have been effectively occupied, blocking access for residents and visitors.
Onisiforou said responsibility lies with multiple parties who were aware of the situation and failed to act: the Police, the Social Welfare Services, the Health Services and Paphos Municipality itself. He said police have been absent from the area, the Social Welfare Services have taken no meaningful action, and the Welfare Office has monitored the situation without effective intervention.
“We cannot talk about development, tourism and quality of life when we allow such scenes in the heart of Kato Paphos,” he said, calling for immediate mobilisation by all parties involved.
The municipality’s goal, he said, is “a clean city, well-kept and worthy of its residents.” He added that it is the municipality’s duty “to ensure that every neighbourhood and every public space conveys an image of order, cleanliness and respect for citizens.”
Onisiforou said the Minoos area needs no more promises but immediate action: cleanup of the site, enhanced policing, social intervention, proper use of the existing buildings, and restoration of order and dignity. The current state of the area, he said, is not simply neglect but a “shame,” attributing responsibility to the indifference of all those who had the ability to act and did not.
(information from CNA)