Strict scrutiny is welcomed and appreciated, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Wednesday upon receiving the annual report by the Auditor General Odysseas Michaelides.

Handing the report for 2021, the AG said he strives to increase ‘both the quality and the volume of work’ every year.

“The audit contributes to better governance on the part of the state,” Michaelides said, thanking the president for his appointment in 2014. Admitting that there were ‘ups and downs’ in their cooperation from time to time, he stressed that the work of the audit service is collaborative.

For his part, Anastasiades congratulated him for the audit carried out and impartiality, saying that certain actions might have sometimes been misinterpreted “especially preliminary leaks in terms of preliminary findings”

He explained that sometimes the adherence to the letter of the law with rigour might have prevented public officials to take certain decisions considering possible criticism which delayed the promotion of projects and shifted the responsibility to the ministers.

“But what matters is the final result,” he said, noting that he has never held a grudge.