Any crook can find refuge in Cyprus’ tolerance for crime, parliament heard on Wednesday, amid a furious session discussing the Paphos sewerage board (Sapa) affair.
Eight years after companies admitted their involvement in multi-million bribes to public officials, they have been left unpunished from their professional bodies, the House ethics committee heard.
Specifically, the Contractors Council came under fire during the committee hearing, after it emerged the board dropped disciplinary proceedings against companies implicated in the Sapa scandal.
Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades who was previously a member of the Contractors Council said he shared the deputies’ sentiment and he planned to submit a bill that would speed up processes.
This will ensure that justice is served, he said.
Paphos mayor Phedon Phedonos rubbished Vafeades’ statements, saying that he was likeable enough but he is “one of those that carries a share of responsibility” over the fact that the companies have not been punished.
“It is a cheap excuse that every time the council changes the process is reopened. When you want to bury the case, you start it all over again.”
Auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides sought to nullify the argument that nothing could be done, telling deputies that companies involved in criminal cases can be excluded by the Exclusion Committee from participating in public procurement.
This can be done either on an ad hoc basis or across the board.
Akel MP Irene Charalambides said “the message we get is that every crook will find refuge in the tolerance of those who want to let him get away with it. This is a disgrace of institutions and oversight bodies.”
Two mayors and four councillors were convicted for €1.5 million in kickbacks and another €2 million in undisclosed kickbacks, Phedonos said, which resulted in gross overpayments during the first and second phases of the Sapa project.
The companies involved reaped a cushy €30m, he added.
There was a real cost to the taxpayer of about €34m in overpayments to these gentlemen.”
Committee chairman and Disy MP Demetris Demetriou called the whole scandal a disgrace.
During the trial, officials from at least two construction and engineering companies stated on the record and under oath they had bribed politicians and public officials in order to land contracts with the Paphos sewerage board.
Former Paphos mayor Savvas Vergas and the other defendants had collectively received around €1 million in kickbacks, often handed in suitcases during clandestine meetings held either at the Paphos municipality or the Hilton hotel in Nicosia.
Medcon and Nemesis were two of the contractors implicated. Neither the companies nor their officials were sentenced, having got immunity in return for testifying for the prosecution.
Medcon is currently still listed with the Contractors Council. Its licence is valid, and the company has ‘A’ status – meaning it can bid for a public works contract regardless of size.
Nemesis is no longer listed on the council’s registry under that name.
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Mail
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