CYPRUS’ EU presidency secretariat came under more scrutiny yesterday after government asked the Auditor General to investigate the dubious appointment of the boss’ daughter’s boyfriend.
Athanasios Kagiaras, 28, got the coveted €60K events coordinator job ahead of three other applicants, despite reportedly having no events management experience.
Kagiaras resigned on Monday “for reasons of dignity” after his close ties with the boss were publicised by the daily Politis.
And while Secretariat boss Andreas Moleskis denied having anything to do with the recruitment, it emerged yesterday that his relative by marriage Dafni Mavrommati (who happens to be on secondment from Moleskis’ old department) was on the approval committee.
Mavrommati’s manager within the secretariat and logistics unit head Ninos Savvides said Mavrommati got the committee role because of her own events experience at the secretariat, which includes, for example, setting up translation services.
Asked about the investigation, Auditor General Chrystalla Yiorkadji said her office has a duty to investigate these matters, but on this occasion the request came from the government: “We began investigating the tendering process (for the appointment of Athanasios Kagiaras) today.”
Yiorkadji said the report would be completed in three to four days.
The investigation is likely to examine Moleskis’ role in the presentation of Kagiaras’ tender, and the selection of his son in law’s daughter to the approval committee.
On Monday, Moleskis said he could not remember if Mavrommati was on the committee, that all the legal procedures were correctly followed and that Kagiaras was not in any privileged position as a long term cohabitant of his daughter.
He went further to say Kagiaras met all of the necessary criteria for the events management role – with the exception of EU presidential events management experience that is. Asked about this, Moleskis said: “Can you specify any Cypriots who have organised events for the presidency of the European Union?”
Moleskis said that the Secretariat would now seek to appoint a new events coordinator, but that it would not greatly affect the preparations for Cyprus’ assumption of the presidency in June 2012.
