The fight against graft and corruption does not stop at passing laws, DISY MP Dimitris Demetriou said from the floor of the plenary session of the Parliament during the debate on the state budget for 2022, noting that ethics of all citizens, first and foremost politicians, is needed. We need "faith in values to take on the monster of corruption," he noted.
Dimitriou said that "as Chairman of the Institutions Committee, I declare that the issue of MPs' and ministers' "Behind-the-Back" will be completed immediately. The declaration, he said, "will be made electronically for easy comparison with previous declarations and will be made in a uniform manner. To be checked by others not by colleagues."
"The fight against graft and corruption does not stop at passing laws, however good and necessary the laws on both the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority and the Protection of Public Interest Witnesses may be. They are not enough. The laws we have today are certainly not enough either," the DISY MP said.
We need, Demetriou noted, "a parameter without which we will continue to turn around ourselves: The morality of all citizens, first and foremost us politicians." Faith in values, he said, "to take on the monster of corruption." "Only when we believe that we want and can live in a country where transparency prevails and corruption is fought will we succeed," he added.
He addressed "the philanthropy of all our honest and ethical citizens, the overwhelming majority of our fellow citizens," calling on them "to speak out. To denounce immorality, corruption and intrigue". Then, he said, "the functioning of the Anti-Corruption Authority and the protection of those who denounce it will make sense."
He spoke of the need to convince citizens of the value of politics. "To do that we have to be less roosters and more doves here in Parliament as well. Disagreements should be political, debates should be substantive," he said, calling for consensus to pass the necessary reforms.
Source: CNA
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