Akel MP accuses govt of nepotism and cronyism (Updated)

President Nikos Christodoulides is following in the footsteps of Former President Nicos Anastasiades when it comes to appointing advisors, Akel MP Aristos Damianou said on Wednesday.

The opposition MP added to the heavy criticism faced by the government after it emerged that several people were appointed for jobs they were not qualified for.

Speaking to Astra radio, Damianou said that two and a half months into Christodoulides’ presidency there have been multiple cases of embezzlement and cronyism, and appointments to confirm that.

The new president was and is exposed, despite promising change before the election, he said.

He was addressing a Haravgi report which said that the deputy culture minister had appointed as an advisor a woman who was recently handed a suspended prison sentence in relation to a case of forged concert tickets.

Damianou stressed that it is not the position of Akel that people who have been convicted and have re-entered society must remain convicted for life.

“The bottom line is that those who are appointed to a position and paid from public funds, should perform duties and responsibilities consistent with the necessary qualifications,” he said, adding that the current situation with appointments normalises nepotism, bribery, and a lack of transparency.

“Groomsmen, friends and close friends [of the president] are already being appointed,” he said, illustrating what he called a situation that is not consistent with the principles of good administration.

The Akel deputy said there should already be legislation governing the qualifications and criteria for the appointment of advisors to the president, ministers and deputy ministers, pointing out that the Anastasiades presidency spent a little over one million euros on their appointments.

He also reminded that his party has raised the issue with the House ethics committee, asking for a list of names to be published, of people employed by the government as advisors.

Also addressing the report, audit office spokesman Marios Petrides said the names of advisors must be made public and not kept in hidden drawers, especially since the names of people employed at all levels of the public sector are published in the government’s official gazette so that those who appoint them can be judged by the public.

Speaking to Alpha News, Petrides said the audit office is currently looking into all government appointees, and intends to follow the criteria set for parliamentary advisors, even before the bill on government advisors is voted through.

After this development, the audit office will suspend its checks for two to three weeks, he added.

He also said that a person can be appointed to the public sector once their criminal record has been cleared, clarifying however that it is forbidden for the president, the House president, ministers and deputy ministers to appoint secretarial staff.

They are to be hired by the public services, and this process cannot be bypassed by the window hiring of some who will perform secretarial duties, he said.

“No-one can be appointed to the position of advisor to make photocopies, take minutes and upload photos on social media,” he said, adding that these people already exist in the public service and may, through the secondment process, assume duties in ministries and deputy ministries.

Petrides added that the employment of advisors should end with the end of the term of office of the government that appointed them.

Finally, he reminded that advisors should meet the criteria, be over 21 years old, have a university degree and a clean criminal record.