‘Someone must explain why he wasn’t in charge when fires broke out’

MPs raising concerns over the government’s handling of fire coordination, on Tuesday questioned the operational role of Andreas Gregoriou, appointed last year as the national coordinator for fire prevention and response.

During a joint session of the House interior, agriculture and environment committees, MPs said the council of ministers’ decision to assign agriculture ministry director general Gregoriou broad responsibilities in firefighting operations appears to have been ignored in practice by both the ministry and Gregoriou himself.

According to the official minutes dated April 12, 2023, Gregoriou was appointed as responsible coordinator for fire prevention and response.

The decision stated he would “undertake the immediate activation of the mechanisms that exist” and would have authority to “mobilise aircraft”, “have general command regarding the dispersal, movements and disposition of forces”, and “indicate traffic regulations or evacuation needs”.

However, MPs were told that Gregoriou did not exercise operational command. Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou told the committee that operational responsibility rests with either the fire chief or the director of the forestry department, depending on the area of the fire.

“The operational role was never exercised, because Gregoriou, by nature, cannot replace and substitute the fire chief or the director of the forestry department,” she said.

Gregoriou also rejected claims that he was responsible for the firefighting operations. “My absence did not affect the response of the services in extinguishing the fire at all. I do not have and cannot have official duties, regardless of the decision of the Council of Ministers,” Gregoriou said.

He added that before leaving Cyprus he had met the fire chief and the director of the forestry department.

His remarks came in response to questions raised by MPs Nikos Georgiou of Disy and Andreas Pasiourtides of Akel, who pointed out that the original government decision included powers such as the ability to mobilise aircraft and lead coordination across services.

“If the council of ministers appointed him to activate the system, then someone must explain why he wasn’t in charge when fires broke out,” Pasiourtides said.

“We’re talking about peak fire season. If the coordinator was absent, who made the decision for his travel and who replaced him?” Georgiou added.

No clear answer was given by the minister.

Akel MP Irene Charalambides laid blame for Gregoriou’s absence with the minister.

“The agriculture minister just revealed that it was Gregoriou’s wish to go to Australia in the midst of the most dangerous period! She basically left him out in the cold. Of course, the minister did not answer the question of why the leave was approved! The government was promoting that it had appointed a general coordinator,” she wrote in a Facebook post.

The disagreement between what the government decided on paper and how the minister and Gregoriou describe his actual role led to confusion over who is in charge during major fire incidents.

MPs from all sides expressed frustration that the council of ministers’ decision may have been sidestepped or misunderstood.