Insider / ΚΥΠΕ
About 2000 civil servants participate in the management of private companies without having obtained the required permission from the Ministry of Finance, as revealed by the Auditor General's Report.
The Parliamentary Institutions Committee decided in today's session to ask the Auditor General to send this information to the competent Ministries that employ these employees to start the required procedures, while the investigation was requested to be extended to the wider public sector.
The Chairman of the Committee, DISY MP Dimitris Dimitriou, stated that the Committee examined the issue ex officio after the publication of the Auditor General's report for about 2000 civil servants who have either the position of director, secretary, or shares in private companies without the required permission from the Minister of Finance. They asked, as he said, the Auditor to forward these lists to the competent ministries to start the process of either disciplinary or other prosecution. He added that the issue is important not so much in the nature of the offenses as in the observance of the law by civil servants. He also said that they asked for the control to be extended to other employees of the wider public sector who are not paid by the General Accountant, as they suspect that other officials of the wider public sector do not apply the legislation of their service.
He also said that they will monitor the issue and put it back on the agenda to see if what was requested was implemented.
AKEL MP Andreas Pasiourtidis said that it seems that some civil servants when submitting the relevant documents to the Registrar of Companies either declare their profession incorrectly, or hide their real status as civil servants. He stated that it is very important that they asked for a check not only for how many participate in companies but also for the nature of each company in which they participate. This, he said, was done after a civil servant who participates in a company that claims or is associated with such public offerings, is checked for a conflict of interest.
He added that the laws should be implemented and observed and not ignored.
DIKO MP Pavlos Mylonas stated that they demand the control of the competent services, while DIKO also demands the control of the wider public sector, such as the University of Cyprus, TEPAK, the semi-governmental organizations that participate in a process that spends public money. money that must be respected by all and controlled.
DIKO stated that it requires an audit by the Legal Service in these areas as well.
DIPA MP – Cooperation of Democratic Forces Marinos Mousiouttas said that one solution is to immediately submit the necessary information for those who are allowed and for those who are not allowed, to leave these companies in order to comply with the current legislation.
Alexandra Attalidou, Member of Parliament for the Ecologists 'Movement – Citizens' Cooperation, stated that there are laws and regulations in Cyprus, but in addition to their officials, some civil servants who do not take their obligations under the laws of the state they serve seriously violate them en masse. He said that this should disappear and called for proper control and to stop this illegality and violation of state laws.
