A discussion “not on the surface, but on the substance” will take place at the next joint session of the House agriculture, environment, and interior committees regarding last month’s wildfire in the Limassol district, which killed two people, House interior committee chairman and Akel MP Aristos Damianou said on Tuesday.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), he said he has “not received answers” to the questions raised at the previous joint session, which was held on August 5, but that answers “will be given” during the forthcoming joint session, which is to be held on Friday.

Meanwhile, House environment committee chairman and Green party MP Charalambos Theopemptou said he expects to hear “answers to the many questions raised” on August 5.

“It is important that satisfactory answers are given, especially on the issues of restoration and protection of the [fire-affected] area and the planning required for the regeneration of nature,” he said.

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He added that it is “particularly important” for there to be “coordination” between government bodies during regeneration and restoration projects, given that the vast majority of the area impacted by the fire is private land.

House agriculture chairman and Akel MP Yiannakis Gavriel stressed the need for “planning”, with regard to restoration of fire-affected areas, as well as for “measures to support the countryside, both immediately, to relieve those affected, and in the long term”.

He called for “binding incentives” to encourage people to live in the countryside, while also saying that “care should be taken to facilitate the activities” of those who choose to live in rural areas.

In addition, he called for “bureaucracy to be limited” so as to better “facilitate procedures” related to the handing out of compensation and regeneration projects.

Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou, Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou, Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas, Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis, deputy research minister Nicodemos Damianou, and auditor-general Andreas Papaconstantinou have all been summoned to attend Friday’s session.

Also invited are police chief Themistos Arnaoutis, fire brigade chief Nikos Longinos, and representatives from the labour ministry, health ministry, legal service, social welfare deputy ministry, tourism deputy ministry, forestry department, civil defence and the game service.

At the previous joint session, Arnaoutis had said he had “no evidence” that the fire was started “maliciously”, but that the police had taken 65 statements and launched a “criminal investigation” regarding the fire.

Earlier, Longinos had said he could not go above the heads of cabinet and direct the emergency services’ response to the fire.

“Under no circumstances could I violate cabinet’s decision and assume the duties of a coordinator,” he told a joint session of the House agriculture, environment, and interior committees.

“I cannot coordinate the forestry department, civil defence, or the police,” he added.

He said he is typically responsible for coordinating the fire brigade, but that he was “de facto” called upon to liaise with other institutions.

He said that on the day the fire broke out, July 23, said he had been present in Limassol while informing both Hartsiotis and Panayiotou of the situation, and also telling Arnaoutis to set up a coordination centre.

“I coordinated the services to send a representative to the centre, and from that point on, each representative coordinated their services. I was the umbrella, but I could not coordinate people from the forestry department,” he said.

He said that the agriculture ministry’s permanent secretary Andreas Gregoriou had been designated as the coordinator of the various involved organisations, but that Gregoriou was at the time in Australia to commemorate the anniversaries of the 1974 coup d’état and invasion.

Before the start of that trip, he said, Gregoriou had invited him and others to a meeting.

“[He] told us that he would be leaving for Australia, and some instructions were given. As the fire chief, when I was informed about the fire, I assumed the responsibility of being the coordinator of the services… I assumed the burden of responsibility so that no more bad things would happen,” he said.