A lack of coordination and the absence of a continuous, clear overview of the progress of public works have been identified by the President of the Cyprus Fiscal Council, Michalis Persianis, who warns that weaknesses in monitoring and oversight could lead to delays and cost overruns extending to 2028.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, Mr Persianis was asked to comment on the fact that projects officially listed as completed continue to appear with budget allocations in subsequent years. He noted that while there may be logical explanations in certain cases, “the real concern is that there does not appear to be close monitoring or a continuous, clear overall picture of public sector projects.”

According to him, the problem lies primarily in coordination, particularly in projects involving more than one Department or Ministry.

Asked whether these weaknesses could result in delays or cost overruns, the President of the Council replied that “this is precisely the concern.” He compared public sector project management with private-sector practices, where clear timelines are set and progress is reviewed on a monthly basis, allowing for early “alarm signals” to be triggered when delays arise. “The weakness lies in monitoring and oversight,” he said.

Within this context, Mr Persianis highlighted the need to establish a central mechanism and a dedicated platform through which the progress of projects and their expenditures would be recorded on a monthly basis. As he explained, with appropriate coding, the status of both timelines and spending would be clearly reflected, providing timely information to the political leadership.

At the same time, he pointed out that in many projects there is currently no clear accountability for delays, as multiple bodies are involved with different coordinators, without a single “final owner” of the project.

“The platform would provide early visibility of where there is a risk of things going off track,” he said.

As he stressed, there is a need for immediate and timely identification not only of projects that are already delayed, but also of those at risk of delays.

“Such an approach would help the political leadership identify problems before they escalate, so that they do not become politicised, which in turn makes them much harder to resolve,” he noted.

He added that today, because political leaders often become aware of problems too late, issues that are essentially practical become politicised — and once politicised, they are far more difficult to address.