Date Added: 20 February 2023

Prime Minister Ünal Üstel said on Sunday that the Disaster and Emergency Aid Fund will only be used for financial assistance for preparation and relief efforts for natural disasters such as earthquakes.

He said that it was completely out of the question to use the money collected in the fund for other purposes.

Prime Minister Ünal Üstel on Sunday clarified where money to be collected under the Disaster and Emergency Aid Fund will be used.

He gave the reassurance that the money collected will only be used for increasing the country’s preparedness for natural disasters and for relief efforts in the event a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, strikes.

The premier, speaking on BRT, pointed out that the Turkish Cypriot people were extremely charitable people and that they were ready to assist in the recovery of the pain being experienced as a result of the recent earthquakes in Türkiye.

Earlier last Tuesday, the Council of Ministers produced a number of decisions on Tuesday to remedy and compensate the losses caused by the colossal twin earthquakes which struck Türkiye last week.

The decisions also aim to support relief efforts for the survivors of the earthquake.

Also a statutory decree was published in the official gazette for the introduction of salary cuts for everyone between 1 to 5 per cent and that the money will be spent on earthquake victims.

The money will be used for the construction of an indoor sports hall in Gazimağusa to be named after the children from the Gazimağusa Türk Maarif College’s volleyball team who died in Adıyaman, education scholarships for orphaned children, transportation costs of rescue teams and delivery of humanitarian supplies, the construction of 1000 container homes for earthquake survivors in Türkiye as well as the purchase of equipment for the Civil Defence Organisation to be used in the event of natural disasters.