A LARGE majority of government officials are deliberately ignoring a law under which they are obliged to make an asset declaration.
The revelation was made in Politis newspaper yesterday, with the daily claiming that around 1,500 government officials were refusing to make the declaration, which has been compulsory practice for civil servants since 2004.
The declaration is aimed at rooting out nepotism and corruption within the government sector.
But the law has done little to impress many government workers, according to Chairman of the Ministerial Council for Declaration of Assets, Nicos Papaefstathiou, who spoke to the daily about his concerns on the issue.
Papaefstathiou added that since the adoption of the law, there has been little response and a lot of government officials were simply not declaring their assets and revenues.
According to figures quoted by the paper, around 1,500 public servants, mostly town councilors, have in the past five months been failing to make their declarations. By law, they were obliged to have made their declarations by the end of March 2007.
Despite the fines expected to be issued within the next few days, government sources speculate that even that won’t force some of the officials to step forward.
Already, 19 government officials, mostly town and village councilors, community leaders and employees of semi-government organisations, have been handed £1,000 fines plus an extra £30 for every day that they delay to pay the fine.
Out of the 19 officials, only three have paid their fines so far.
The paper believes that some ministers and deputies are also yet to make their asset declarations.
Papaefstathiou said it was sadly apparent that many government officials did not fully understand the consequences of their actions and that already one government official had been forced to pay £4,150 as a fine because he had been delaying to pay.
Other officials have been forced to pay between £2,000 and £3,000.
The government is set to discuss the ongoing crisis next week, with legal advisors called in to offer advice.
According to Papaefstathiou, the following matters will be on the agenda:
l The continuous delay of fine payments and the need to establish a procedure aimed at forcing those in breach to pay fines more quickly.
l The introduction of a judicial procedure in which those not paying their fines could be prosecuted either with civil suits or with criminal charges in a court of law.
l The possibility of meeting with the Justice Minister to discuss what measures could be taken against those refusing to make their declarations. The possibility of an alteration to the legislation could also be on the cards.
