AKEL general secretary criticizes government handling of foot-and-mouth disease

General Secretary of AKEL, Stefanos Stefanou, has publicly criticized the government and Minister of Agriculture Maria Panagiotou regarding the management of the current foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. Stefanou argued that the minister has repeatedly failed to address critical issues, citing past performance failures related to last summer's wildfires and water resource management. He called upon the President of the Republic to take responsibility for these shortcomings and suggested that the minister's resignation is necessary to resolve the current impasse. According to the AKEL official, the foot-and-mouth disease crisis poses significant risks to the livestock sector, the broader economy, the food industry, and the labor market. While maintaining that the government must accept political responsibility, Stefanou emphasized that the immediate priority must be the effective management of the health crisis to avoid mass animal culling. He urged the administration to move away from shifting blame and instead implement decisive and responsible solutions. Similar criticism regarding the handling of the crisis has reportedly been echoed by other political entities like DISY.