It has recently been reported that when it comes to the highly emotive and thorny question of corruption within the EU, Greece is the worst culprit and up there with that other high-flying delinquent, Italy.
What goes on in Greece mirrors that in Cyprus to a T. Particular examples seem to be unearthed on a seemingly daily rather than one-off basis: the Dromolaxia land scandal involving the CyTA pension fund; conviction of a former minister and central bank governor for tax evasion; the ongoing alleged fraud saga involving a leading property developer; the resignation of the mayor of Paphos over his alleged corruption. These are but four instances. As in Greece, the weak link is the judiciary as sentences in such cases invariably aren’t commensurate with the offences. The perpetrators of these white collar crimes know only too well that they’ll receive little more than a rap over the knuckles.
Into this mix are many who feel the need to excuse such behaviour by sidestepping and watering down what’s going on, using the well-worn technique of pointing out examples elsewhere. But apart from Greece and Italy it’s not the same in other countries. Corruption does exist elsewhere but the difference is that by and large, the appropriate laws are more likely to be strenuously applied.
Finding and administering a cure to eliminate this state of affairs is easier said than done but is something which needs to be addressed head on.
Firstly, there seems to be far too few public servants of the calibre of the current Auditor General who is a one-man crusade to root out corruption at every level. One would hope that there are others like him. However, I suspect that many of those in positions of authority have risen through the ranks and could possibly be infected with the ‘fakelaki’ way of doing things. The only alternative would be to install people with no affiliations to political parties. A tall order but unless this happens, any likelihood of stemming the tide will fail.
Secondly, those of a certain social strata who are brought before the courts need to be treated not as unlucky fellow travellers from the same class as the judges but as criminals. It’s in the fairness with which a trial is handled that we can identify justice, not only in the result.
Finally, there needs to be an independent body with teeth which oversees the workings of the public sector.
The reason why this cancer has infected the state and flourished is perfectly clear: those at the top of the pecking order are the ones who’ve benefited most and have guaranteed its continuation. That being the case, they’re the ones who have to tackle and stamp it out as they’re the only ones with executive power. If they continue to sit on their hands and merely tinker at the edges, the end result will be inevitable as well as unimaginable.
Gavin Jones, Paphos
