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It is a shame that the bickering between administration officials and the Auditor General seems to have no end, with Cabinet members accusing Odysseas Michaelides of pandering to the opposition, while the senior state watchdog has warned of meddling and jeopardising his office’s independence.
The accusations against the chief auditor, who is tasked with overseeing all public decisions that affect the taxpayer, have even gone as far as to suggest that he is loyal to a specific party, some pointing the finger at the centre-right Diko.
What the present administration should have done was to embrace every conclusion coming from the audit office, as one way to rid itself of the past blemishes arising from a lack of transparency, as well as abuse of public information by senior officials or their relatives.
Instead, it has resorted to defend many of its poor choice in decisions, some of which could have been avoided altogether. This implies that senior government officials do not want believe in transparency when it comes to matters of public contracts and appointments, an accusation that the present-day ruling party levelled at past administration when itself was in opposition.
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that ever since Michaelides took up the crusade to investigate every single complaint or even inkling of corruption, the public has started to view his office with greater confidence, believing that finally some justice may be served. And justice does not necessarily have to come through punishing people. Quite the contrary, faulty decisions, many of which seem to favour senior or high-ranking public servants need to be overturned to give ordinary citizens a sense that fairness and transparency could have a say in Cyprus society.
Ever since the 2013 crisis, when many private sector employees lost their jobs, while those who kept their posts saw wage cuts to the tune of 50 and 60%, the injustice in everyone’s mind was why should civil servants, who work and produce far less than those in the private sector, be relieved of major pay cuts, while they also enjoy o many more perks in the public sector.
The same also applies to incompetent managers or senior officers in various government departments who, for the simple reason of their lack of education, interpret rules and regulations as they wish, knowing that any complaints filed with the Ombudsman will be lost in time.
This is not the way to have a fair system, where ordinary folk have been more outspoken in recent years about the effectiveness and impartiality even of the judicial system.
If there are any complaints about the Auditor General becoming a ‘tool of the opposition,’ then those who raise these arguments should not hide behind their parliamentary or any other immunity and be prepared to go the mile with their accusations. Otherwise, they should shut up and let the man do the job he is supposed to do.
At least ordinary taxpayers seem to be backing him.
