Frank and Joan's Adventures in Northern Cyprus
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Our adventures in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continue....

Living the dream - Our villa is for sale

February 15

- Does the cold wet weather go hand in hand with the doom and gloom in the newspapers? I have been of course reading all about the UK and it's financial situation on the internet papers and have to say that it makes pretty depressing reading. But it's no better here as many are suffering too. Some local authorities have been unable to pay some employees as they have been unable to collect tax due from failing businesses, whilst at the same time State sector workers are planning to strike because the government is planning to regulate wages and not to increase the minimum wage. What is the point of that I ask, if there is no money why ask for an increase on nothing.

The problem here is that it has been a handout nation for a very long time. Turkish Cypriots have become used to Turkey guaranteeing them money and State jobs, regardless in many cases of ability or even a desire to work. Result here is one working and three watching, but four

getting paid. The rude awakening must be just around the corner.

There is a report in the paper today that the government is to hold an auction of electrical goods etc that have been seized over the years because they would not pass state rules. Now if they are potentially lethal according to the responsible department, how can it now be suddenly OK to sell them off. Shows a certain desperate need for money.

President Talat says that he is still optimistic about finding a solution to the divided island during 2009, but admits that there is much work to be done. At the same time he admits to an over recruitment problem and says that we must find other fields for new employees instead of the public sector. A cabinet member says that the public sector is on the point of collapse and that the government will soon not be able to meet the wage bill every month. Yet those who are supposed to understand call for strikes to claim higher wages and government money to prop up failing businesses, whilst they continue to blindly open up new shops etc, strange sort of uneducated mentality.

A friend of ours who was driving a still UK registered car was semi-arrested this week and the car taken to a compound. The reason was simply that they didn't have written authority from the English owner to drive the car. The owner lives partly in UK and partly here, had done all the needed paperwork to get ready to pay the import tax on the due date, next month and had said, if you need to use my car then that's OK. Now over here the car is insured, not the driver so you can drive a vehicle with the owners permission, but now it appears that doesn't apply if it does not have local plates. Apparently the customs compound in Nicosia was quite full of UK plated and Southern plated vehicles, now it couldn't be a ruse to get some more taxes in could it? Who said cynic?


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