CyBC finances under scrutiny

TALK OF “golden boys” and “golden girls” on the CyBC payroll dominated the discussions at the House Watchdog Committee, which yesterday examined a report by the Auditor-general concerning the state broadcaster’s 2009 finances. 
According to Marina Drakou, who presented the report on behalf of the Auditing Committee, CyBC’s financial obligations exceed the total of its assets by €65.3 million. Drakou also added that there was a €4.6 million working capital deficit in 2009, compared to €1.7 million in 2008. This difference was mostly due to CyBC’s increased responsibilities towards its unemployment fund.
The President of the House Committee, DISY’s George Georgiou, said that the actions and policies implemented by CyBC’s management showed they were “anything but financially tidy”.
Georgiou was commenting on the fact that 73 contract workers were given permanent posts at an expense of an extra €1.0 million a year, despite CyBC’s financial problems.
He also mentioned the fact that 38 contract workers whose services were supposed to be terminated last June based on a commitment made by The CyBC’s board to the House’s Finance Committee were still on the CyBC payroll. “Without state funding, CyBC would have shut down years ago,” Georgiou said.
The Watchdog Committee was mainly preoccupied CyBC staff – both contract and permanent workers – who have more than one position, including some who work at other semi-state bodies, Georgiou said.
CyBC chairman Makis Symeou said the organisation was implementing policies that particularly in 2010 would help speed up the resolution of various problems.
Symeou also reassured the Committee that he was looking into the issue of staff being employed by more than one semi-state body. “If we’re referring to a journalist who works at CyBC and who is also a contributor at a newspaper on a contract basis, then there are no more than five such people at CyBC,” said Symeou. He also emphasised that there were no “golden boys” or “golden girls” in CYBC.
Georgiou added that his Committee asked the Chairman to present an updated list of all staff “from waste collectors to the general manager”, and record their duties, salaries and retirement benefits.
Nepotism also entered the discussion. Georgiou said there had always been a certain bias based on “who was whose grandson” when it came to hiring. 
In response Symeou said that that might have been the case a long time ago. “Nowadays, hiring and promoting employees is done based on rules and laws. It is for this reason that 39 contributors that were hired through shortened procedures have received letters saying they will stop and will be replaced by those who will successfully pass the written test. The procedure that is expected to finish in October, he said.
When asked to comment on the issue of “golden boys and girls” at CyBC, member of the Committee Angelos Votsis of DIKO said that with an average salary of €79,000 a year, it was safe to assume that there were many highly paid employees, especially as the average age of the employees was 53.
On a more positive note, AKEL deputy Panikos Hampas said the CyBC board was proceeding with radical changes.
He said there had been a decrease of €1.7 million in operating costs in 2010, and that this was expected to drop even more in 2011. Hampas also said CyBC’s budget for 2011 would be reduced by €5 million, which would include cuts in staff, and other expenses.