A SENIOR official at Cyprus’ EU presidency secretariat was never officially hired and had been exercising his duties for the past two years without a contract, it emerged yesterday, raising even more questions on how the body was run by its former chief Andreas Moleskis, who resigned last week over allegations of nepotism.
MPs yesterday heard that the head of the logistics unit, Ninos Savvides, was put there by Moleskis and had been acting on behalf of the secretariat apparently without any official authority for the past two years.
House Watchdog Committee chairman, DISY MP Giorgos Georgiou said “there is a huge issue of institutional and political order” as Savvides worked at the secretariat without having any contractual relation.
“He had a role, a say and authority; in our view he planned and coordinated illegally,” Georgiou said.
And his trips abroad were footed by the government.
The DISY lawmaker said decisions taken by Savvides may now be disputed.
The committee heard that Savvides’ position had only been terminated on Monday, with Georgiou wondering if it was to avoid the deputies’ questions.
Savvides, a retired civil servant, had worked at the planning bureau while Moleskis was head of the department.
Georgiou said the two sides had been discussing the contract for the past two years to no avail.
“This is unacceptable and I would add that it is a phenomenon of usurping authority with the consent, the silence and applause of the state itself,” Georgiou said.
The disagreement over the contract stemmed from the fact that Savvides wanted to continue to receive his pension in full along with the salary of the position.
Savvides had not received any payment in the past two years but Georgiou did not rule out him demanding remuneration soon.
Moleskis resigned as head of Cyprus’ EU presidency secretariat last week over allegations of favouritism in the hiring process of an events coordinator in Brussels.
It emerged that the man hired for the job was the boyfriend and cohabitant of Moleskis’ daughter.
Athanasios Kayiaras, who has since resigned, got the job ahead of three other applicants, after submitting the lowest bid.
It later emerged that all the bidders, as well as Moleskis’ daughter Melina, knew each other.
Savvides was the man who appointed the three members of the committee which evaluated the bids for the events coordinator contract.
A member of that committee, Daphni Mavromati, told MPs that her brother is married to Moleskis’ other daughter but stressed that she was not related in any way to the bidders.
Mavromati also claimed she did not know Kayiaras lived with Melina, adding that the committee was not involved in the first stage of the selection.
The four who had submitted a bid for the job had not been selected through an open tenders procedure.
They, including Kayiaras, had been short-listed from a pool of around 300 CVs sent by people seeking employment at the secretariat.
Moleskis said only the three, out of the 300, met the criteria and he recommended two more – something which he said was in line with the rules.
The fifth candidate, whom it was reported was also related to Moleskis through his wife, did not bid eventually.
