Civil servants are promoted ‘as a matter of course’

CYPRUS’ public service was yesterday dubbed dysfunctional by the president of the Public Service Committee.

Presenting the committee’s report, Andreas Kalogeorgis said that Cyprus’ public service faced two serious problems — promotions taking place as a matter of course and the process by which new public servants were employed.

In-service training was also criticised. "Reviewing does not only take place for promotional reasons, it’s there to help the employee develop," said Kalogeorgis. "How will someone who gets five ‘excellent’ grades without any effort improve if no one tells him where he is going wrong?"

Kalogeorgis said he had presented the report to President Glafcos Clerides earlier yesterday and that Clerides had shown concern over the issue. He said Clerides had promised to call a special meeting on ways to improve the workings of the public service.

The committee, apart from its role in interviewing potential public servants, also acts as a disciplinary court. Kalogeorgis said that 12 disciplinary cases had come to the fore in 1999 and decisions had been reached on five of them. Without going into detail, Kalogeorgis said these cases had resulted in one dismissal (the most severe reprimand handed out by the committee), and one demotion, plus less serious reprimands in cases where employees were found guilty.

Kalogeorgis said that last year the committee had dealt with more work than ever before. He said that prospective public servants undergo a lengthy selection process whereby unsuitable applicants are weeded out, written exams are taken and interviews held. This final stage sees the most direct intervention of the committee which has the final say on who is appointed.

The committee also reviews supervisors’ reports on public servants’ performance, based on which promotions are awarded

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