Βασός Βασιλείου
The Speaker of Parliament was surprised, the reaction of parties and the outcry of citizens was caused by the submission, for the umpteenth time, of government regulations, through which limousines are granted on a 24-hour basis to about 18 new officials, at repeated costs for taxpayers.
The regulations for free distribution cover the general directors of the Parliament, the ministries, the sub-ministries, the Chairman of the Public Service Committee, the Chairman of the Education Service Committee, as well as the general director of the General Directorate of Development.
It is worth noting that, as “F” is informed, reactions were provoked even by MPs of the ruling party, who believe that the damage that may be caused will be greater than any benefit.
However, after the reactions, some believe that the regulations should be withdrawn in order to give a way out to both the government and DISY. It is characteristic that the deputies of the ruling party in their private discussions did not hide their strong disagreement with the mentioned regulations, although in public no one dared to say a single word.
The history of limousines goes back years when with the amendment of the relevant legislation (effective from 1 January 2016) general managers and other officials were not allowed to use their official vehicles for personal purposes. At the end of February 2017, Dimitris Syllouris submitted a relevant bill, while on October 19, 2018, another bill was submitted by DISY MP George Georgiou to increase the capacity of limousines, which was then withdrawn. On 20/11/2019, the former Minister of Finance, Haris Georgiadis, submitted similar regulations. On February 20, the issue of the regulations was brought before the Plenary Session of the Parliament, but because it was obvious that they would not be approved, they were withdrawn.
It is worth noting the example of Germany, which, at the request of the Auditor General, stated that the officials do not have any official vehicles, with the exception of people with disabilities, given that there are no public vehicles in the area where they live.
On the part of parties, DISY spokesman Dimitris Dimitriou, from whom we asked to comment on the regulations, said that the party will express its position when the issue is discussed before the Parliamentary Committee on Finance. A similar attitude will be observed by DIKO, as we were told by a party MP.
They are entitled by law
According to the legislation (the Law of 2014 on the provision of certain benefits to defined beneficiaries of the state sector and the wider public sector), Article 4, vehicle 24 hours a day, the President of the Republic, the Speaker of Parliament, the Speaker of the Supreme, the Attorney General, the Assistant Attorney General and the Auditor General.
Besides, according to the existing regulations and specifically regulation 7, the beneficiaries of a vehicle on a 24-hour basis are the ministers, the deputy ministers, the government representative, the Chief of Police, the Chief of GEEF and the head of KYP.
29th the general managers based on the Protocol
It is worth noting that based on the internal ceremonial ranking (“Protocol”) of the Republic of Cyprus, as defined in the Table of Law 59 (I) / 1996, the general directors of ministries are ranked 29th. It is clarified that those who precede the general managers are not necessarily public officials, in order to be entitled to a limousine.
Specifically, the order of the protocol is as follows:
President of the Republic, Archbishop of Cyprus, Speaker of Parliament, Leaders or representatives of parliamentary parties, former Presidents of the Republic, Attorney General, President of the Supreme Court, members of the Council of Ministers, Parliamentary Representatives of parties, former Speakers of Parliament, Members of Parliament, Members of Parliament, Members of Parliament Court, Government Spokesman, Undersecretary to the President, President of the Union of Municipalities, Mayors, Chief of National Guard, Chief of Police, Assistant Attorney General, Former Ministers and Former Members of Parliament, Governor of the Central Bank, Deputies and Members of the Public Service Committee, chairman and Members of the Education Service Committee, Auditor General, Commissioner of Administration and finally, General Directors of the House of Representatives, the Ministries and the Planning Office.
