Our View: Ending lifetime state benefits is the correct call

Well done House speaker Annita Demetriou for publicly backing the bill that would end the lifetime benefits granted by the state to former presidents and House speakers. She is a rare case of a state official, who has supported a bill that would make her worse off financially when she steps down, as the bill envisages ending the provision of a state limo, police chauffeurs and a secretarial allowance to state officials until their death.

“These lifetime benefits should be abolished, and all regulations should be placed in a different, transparent and rational framework,” she said on Wednesday when the House ethics committee discussed the relevant bill, proposed by the independent deputy Alexandra Attalides. Attalides proposed that the benefits should be in place for just five years after the official leaves their position, rather than their complete abolition, which the Green party supported.

If nothing is changed it would mean that Demetriou, who would be 41 years of age after her term as House speaker ends, would enjoy a state car plus chauffeur and a €3,000 monthly allowance for the rest of her life, which could be for another 40 years based on the average life expectancy for females. Would she have made such a great contribution to our society, having a ceremonial position for five years, to justify the lifetime benefits? Dipa chief Marios Garoyian has been enjoying these benefits after three years as speaker. Does his, or any other speaker’s contribution to our society merit such rewards?

The cost of the benefits to the taxpayer for two former presidents and three former speakers is about €700,000 a year, according to the audit office. This is over and above their state pension, which for a former president is in the region of €8,000 per month. With such a pension, do they really need any more support from the taxpayer? Surely, they can afford to pay for a secretary, if they occasionally need one, and to buy their own car. As for speakers, they should enjoy no benefits other than the ultra-generous state pension that is paid to deputies, which is all they were.

During the ethics committee discussion of the bill, the under-secretary to the president Irini Piki, took a stand against the abolition of the benefits, saying the state should treat former officials with respect. Is it really a show of respect to pay them €3,000 as a secretarial allowance, every month, even though they do not employ a secretary? This is a disgraceful arrangement, a cash-in-hand payment (the allowance is not taxed) made by the state straight into the pocket of the former official, who also never pays for car maintenance or petrol (another untaxed benefit).  And what about the lack of respect with which these officials treat the taxpayer, taking his money under false pretenses?

This is why these benefits should end. Attalides’ proposal that these should be just for five years after stepping down, is perfectly reasonable and should be approved without delay. There is no rational or moral justification for a lifetime of benefits to officials who were generously rewarded when holding a public post, which also pays them a handsome pension.