Paphos mayor awarded for transparency

Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos was the only individual to have been given the annual award by Transparency International Cyprus, it was announced on Saturday.

The award, presented at an even organised by the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Friday on the occasion of the International Anti-corruption day on December 9, was a “moral vindication and personal acknowledgement of his struggle to combat corruption and introduce transparency in public life”, a statement by Phedonos’ campaign to be re-elected mayor said.

According to the statement, the award reflected his contribution to the cracking of various cases, including “the Paphos Sewerage Board scandal, the Koshi and Paphos waste-management plant scandals, various cases of mismanagement or squandering of public money by elected officials and officers in the Green Dot case, and the municipal garden”.

The decision to present the award to Phedonos, it said, was that “his public whistleblowing and actions contributed to ridding society of incidents of corruption and graft, as in the case of illicit trade in antiquities and the existence of protection rackets”.
The fact that, as a result of his actions, phedonos had received numerous threats, even against his life, was also factored into the decision, the statement said.

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