Kallis cites lack of staff and delays in upgrading service behind decision
THE Chairman of the Competition Committee has resigned from his post after six months of service.
Panayiotis Kallis submitted his resignation on Tuesday, citing a lack of staff and delays in upgrading the service.
“I accepted my appointment to this position with the only aim of making the Committee for the Protection of Competition’s presence felt in society, with a rapid reaction and examination of cases,” read Kallis’ letter of resignation.
He added that his repeated requests to then President Tassos Papadopoulos and the Finance Ministry for more staff had been met positively, but bureaucracy got in the way of anything actually being done.
“For the Committee to be in a position to fulfil its role, it must possess the means to examine cases quickly and make decisions shortly after the examination begins,” said Kallis.
“With today’s number of officers it is very hard, if not impossible, for the Committee to correspond to its role in the rhythms that are demanded,” he added.
The issue has brought a series of problems to the forefront, not least new delays in examining cases that involve the protection of consumers and healthy competition.
Trade Minister Antonis Paschalides yesterday expressed his disappointment over the resignation, saying he had tried to persuade Kallis to change his mind.
However, he said the demand for more staff was indeed a necessity and called on the Finance Ministry to move ahead with approving the relative funds.
“I spoke with Mr Kallis twice,” said Paschalides.
“I tried to make him change his mind by taking on the responsibility of meeting with the Finance Minister and all the relevant bodies at once, because it seems Mr Kallis’ concerns were justifiable.”
He added that Kallis had offered plenty of warnings over the staffing problems the Committee was facing.
“All his letters and communications were with the Finance Ministry. We were never informed by anybody over this problem,” Paschalides pointed out. “I tried to change Mr Kallis’ mind, but it seems he is sticking to his position.”
The ministry will now have to prepare a proposal to replace Kallis and submit it to the Cabinet for approval.
“The Finance Ministry must deal with this issue immediately and approve whatever funds are needed to find the necessary staff,” said Paschalides. “I will try and meet with the Finance Minister in the next few days so we can talk about the various shortcomings in various departments that are related to our ministries.”
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee has highlighted the need for immediate measures to be taken.
DISY’s Lefteris Christoforou yesterday pointed out that there was currently no control over the market; something that almost guarantees unfair competition and corruption.
As a result, consumers are left completely unprotected.
Christoforou promised that a new bill improving CPC laws was going to be top priority on his committee’s agenda now Parliament had reopened.
“It is to Mr Kallis’ honour, submitting his resignation after realising the current standards were preventing him from living up to the mission of Competition Commissioner; this way, the various problems have come to light,” said Christoforou.
He added: “In competition matters, when problems can’t be examined immediately, possible unfair competition continues, fixed pricelists prosper and in general, the best interests of the public aren’t being served”.
There have been a number of difficulties in the Competition Committee’s examination of cases, and this said Christoforou, was due to the weak legal framework under which it was operating.
“A bill was submitted to us, which was reviewed a number of times, but came in its final form in November, when Parliament was about to close [for the presidential elections]. We will give it top priority,” the DISY deputy concluded.
Former CPC head Giorgos Christofides stepped down from his post in early September after staff accused him of spying on them through CCTV cameras and monitoring their communication.
According to Attorney-general Petros Clerides, who examined the case, Christofides avoided prosecution as his actions were not considered a criminal offence. It was also deemed unnecessary and “to nobody’s benefit” to launch a case against him.
Christofides’ predecessor, Christodoulos Tselios, was sacked by the governments two years earlier after being charged with forgery and being found guilty last year. He was given a suspended jail sentence.
