Cyprus is on track despite past mistakes, says president

The newly-appointed transparency commissioner and members of the independent anti-corruption authority were on Friday urged by President Nicos Anastasiades to work with determination and demonstrate zero tolerance in the fight against corruption.

The president was speaking during the appointment ceremony at the presidential palace.

Transparency Commissioner Haris Poyadjis, Tatiana Zachariadou, Eleni Patera, Michalis Constantinides and Nicos Zambakides were officially appointed to the independent authority against corruption.

Anastasiades said the creation of a comprehensive framework for the prevention, protection and combating of corruption, were a government a priority, taking into account European Commission reports, recommendations of international organisations and best practices at an international level.

According to Anastasiades, the national plan, includes a series of 52 actions that provide for the creation of strong institutions to prevent corruption, which are based on three main pillars. Firstly, prevention, education and awareness; second, legislative measures; and thirdly, monitoring and risk assessment.

Anastasiades noted that he has no problem in acknowledging the mistakes, gaps and weaknesses that existed, which inevitably some people abused, resulting in the “unfortunate exposure of the country”.

“Mistakes and omissions which we have publicly acknowledged and for which we have had the courage with determination to correct,” he said, noting however that in no case does this negate the huge progress and improvements that Cyprus has made, both in anti-corruption indicators, but also in the legal framework and law enforcement in terms of combating the phenomenon, something that is recognised by European institutions and international oversight organisations.

The president said that in addition to funding the establishment and operation of the independent authority against corruption with an amount of €4.76 million, the government has included in the plan additional funds in excess of €3m.

Poyiadjis said that in order to achieve the objectives of the commission, it was necessary to cooperate with both the attorney-general and the auditor-general, which will be one of their primary goals and objectives.

“We fully understand that it is very difficult, within a short period of time, to overturn some bad attitudes and “culture” that have found fertile ground and have been cultivated since the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, perhaps even earlier. We also realise that we are living in a period of suspicion and questioning of almost all institutions by a large part of civil society,” he said.

Therefore, he stressed, at present, they will not say big words or promise much.

“The way we will act as an authority will be developed collectively among ourselves and in cooperation with the other competent bodies, with a lot of effort and coordination, and we hope that, over time, the best possible and most effective operation of the authority will be achieved,” he said.

“In this way, we will try to demonstrate that something is now changing in Cyprus in the way corruption issues are dealt with. And these efforts will hopefully convince, to the greatest extent possible, both the citizens in Cyprus and the international bodies which are known to follow the course of events with a critical eye,” he said.

Poyiadjis again addressed civil society, asking it to show a little more patience. He added that since May 3, 2022, when their names were announced as the proposed members of the authority, they have felt the impatience that the citizens have for the functioning of the authority.

“But from today, when it commences operations, we must explain that again, the authority will still need some more time to be able to receive complaints. This is because according to the provisions of the Act, regulations governing its operation will first have to be prepared,” he said.

He also emphasised emphatically that any person who applies to the authority with any request will be promptly notified of the receipt of his request. The consideration of their request will be within the framework of the legislation relating to personal data.

“Within the framework of transparency, they will be provided with information on the progress of the investigation. If their request is rejected or forwarded for further investigation, they will be informed immediately, with the reasons recorded in a transparent manner. Moreover, it is no coincidence that the person who heads the authority bears the title of transparency commissioner,” he explained.