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Our favourite Finance Minister, who on occasion seems to fall victim to the same blunders as other colleagues in the Cabinet, has finally showed that he is talking sense by announcing that he will ensure some 250 million euros are saved from excessive spending by civil servants.
The only trouble is, why wait until next year, Mr Stavrakis, when you should have embarked on this cost-cutting measure from the day you set foot in that office?
Is it, perhaps, that the unsurprising move by Andreas Vgenopoulos to relocate Marfin Laiki’s base from Nicosia to Athens, with all the negative repercussions, has hurt this administration and that the President wants to focus public attention elsewhere? Could it be that the upcoming European Parliament elections have produced some concerns among the voting public and Mr Christofias has given the green light for a general overhaul of public spending? Has it taken the Cabinet over a year to realise that the Auditor General is right in a lot (if not all) of her findings and that past pledges to heed to Ms Yiorkadjis’ recommendations were totally ignored?
We expected more from Mr Stavrakis, and sooner too. However, it is never too late, and even at this late hour, major cutbacks are more than welcome.
Once he has saddled up on his white horse, raising the sword of righteousness, he should keep up this pace and seek more cutbacks, without, of course, compromising the quality of service produced by some (and not all) civil servants.
Just as major corporations are cutting back on spending by laying off staff in order to reduce their payroll, or by introducing a voluntary wage freeze, that in many cases ensures many people get to keep their jobs, is it not a good time to seek a freeze on civil service pay rises? Why should the civil servants continue to enjoy the benefits of low-interest loans, reduced contributions to the social insurance fund and six months’ unemployment benefit when they retire? These are privileges that the real working class of Cyprus (allegedly represented by the people’s party) has and never will enjoy. At least not in this lifetime.
Is it not true that the generous pampering of the civil servants over the years, for fear of their votes being cast in favour of one or another presidential candidate, has allowed the SIF to reach the brink of bankruptcy?
If the present administration really cares about the welfare of future generations, as it has pledged on many occasions, then it should start by placing its house in order.
Mr Stavrakis, we will hold you to your word over the 250 million in cutbacks and hope that you will keep up this pace and introduce more efficiencies by the end of this term.
