The capital ‘needs a woman’s touch’
DEMOCRAT Party (DP) candidate Gencay Eroğlu vowed to slash the price of water and increase green areas in Lefkoşa if she wins the mayoral election, saying the capital needs a “woman’s touch”.
Daughter of former president Derviş Eroğlu — and standing for DP while her father backs National Unity Party candidate Hasan Sertoğlu — she said during a visit to the Chamber of Engineers and Architects to discuss construction planning: “Lefkoşa needs greenery and we will, of course, need to . . . cooperate with you to reach that objective.
“Once I announced my candidacy, a slogan was formulated by the public: ‘Lefkoşa needs a woman’s hand’. The slogan was not suggested by me but by others and I am honoured by it.”
She added: “Lefkoşa has a very serious traffic problem . . . Dereboyu, one of the busiest streets in the capital, is gridlocked. There are parking problems there. People are complaining there is no parking space, and when someone does park, they receive a fine. Where are we supposed to park?
“We are working on numerous projects on this issue.”
Ms Eroğlu declared the price of water in Lefkoşa “exorbitant” — the most expensive in the TRNC at 7TL per tonne after the first 13 tonnes monthly — and promised “cheaper rates”, commenting: “The reason why the municipality is selling [water] at high prices is to fund salaries. Our objective will be to slash water rates. Cheaper water is vital to having a greener Lefkoşa.”
Targeting “feelings of injustice” among the youth of Lefkoşa, she said DP would target building of new and social housing, and would create public assemblies and local representation for each district.
Touring the capital earlier, Ms Eroğlu hit out at “environmental catastrophe”, saying: “There is rubbish everywhere. Rubbish attracts flies. The flies are eating us alive. These are scenes . . . one would not see, even in African countries.”