CYPRUS’ deeply entrenched system of ‘Rusfeti’ (political favours) and bloated civil service are not only barriers to meritocracy, but could bankrupt the island, academics warned yesterday.
Furthermore, the vast number of civil servants who got their job through rusfeti –normally by agreement to vote for one or another party- and the difficulty of proving politicians are using favours, means it is here to stay.
Presenting a paper on rusfeti and political patronage at the University of Nicosia yesterday, associate professor for history and political science Hubert Faustmann was pessimistic about the hope of reform.
Faustmann said: “It has served (government and semi government employees) so well for their personal advancement that I doubt there are efficient mechanisms that can stop this practice. I believe that it is here to stay because it has benefitted everybody.”
According to his research, common favours offered in return for votes are appointments, promotions, job transfers or even exemptions from certain laws.
Rusfeti is both difficult to prove and potentially disastrous for the economy.
Faustmann said: “The consequences are quite severe and the cost might be state bankruptcy in the extreme. The finance minister has gone on record saying that if the civil service continues to grow and pensions develop then Cyprus is going bankrupt.”
A large proportion of state funds are spent on the public sector, and Faustmann identified a consensus that something needs to be done.
“It is an issue of social justice there. There is a large privileged social class that no one can take on because of their electoral power. It is high time there is a debate in society to find a balance, but I do not see a big push for this. The system is self preserving.”
So why is it so bad here and how can it be changed? One reason, said Faustmann, is the influence of personal contacts in party politics.
Comparing Cyprus to Germany, he said: “In Germany you have an endemic influence of parties but the extent is not that far reaching because you have a big anonymous society. In Cyprus, where there is voting population of maybe 560,000 and people know each other. Personal contacts are decisive.”
Cyprus’ small closed character reinforces party political structures, which explains why the Cyprus consensus works so well. “I might hate you in the debate but afterwards over souvla we are friends – and (politicians) do give favours across party lines.”
Faustmann’s findings may paint a grim picture of Cypriot corruption, but it is not all bad. He noted that Cyprus is one of the least corrupt countries in the region, thanks to the British administrative legacy, that the civil service is still “remarkably efficient” and that employees tend to be highly educated.
“I argue the British administrative tradition based on meritocracy has influenced Cyprus.” Furthermore, despite accepting rusfeti is required to get a civil service job: “The same Cypriots who use it are disgusted by it.”
Ultimately Faustmann and others who participated in yesterday’s debate agreed that Cyprus’ entrenched system of rusfeti was unlikely to change.
