The challenges faced by the Anti-Corruption Authority in carrying out its work, primarily due to understaffing, were brought before the Parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee on Wednesday. Committee members emphasized the need for solutions to ensure the Authority operates more effectively.

Speaking after the session, the Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee, Nikos Tornaritis, stated, “The main issue affecting the Authority, which clearly needs to be resolved, concerns its support staff and secretarial personnel, which are essential for the Anti-Corruption Authority to operate more promptly, flexibly, and effectively.”

According to Mr. Tornaritis, “In this context, we have scheduled a new committee session within 40 days at most, pending proposals from the Legal Service, which were submitted by the Ministry of Justice. These proposals aim to streamline the process of recruiting staff for the Anti-Corruption Authority.”

He stressed the need for the Authority to operate independently and strengthen its infrastructure to deliver the results expected by society.

“Our Committee will work steadfastly towards achieving the best possible outcome,” Mr. Tornaritis noted.

AKEL MP Aristos Damianou:

For this reason, he added, “The Legal Affairs Committee deemed it appropriate to examine the legal framework governing the Authority’s operation and its staffing needs. It is evident that the Authority is entitled to and should receive personnel and technical support from the Executive Authority.”

He noted, “This is a well-established finding,” while emphasizing that this should not serve as an excuse for longstanding complaints to remain unaddressed, uninvestigated, and undisclosed.

Mr. Damianou pointed out that while recognizing the Authority’s genuine needs, AKEL also underscores the urgent societal need for the Authority to fulfill its mission and for substantiated cases to be referred to justice with outcomes made public.

“Only then can corruption and collusion be addressed, even minimally,” he said. At the same time, he added, “Beyond the Authority, law enforcement agencies must also do their job to mitigate the public perception that Cyprus is a country of impunity.”

When asked if they observe delays in the Authority’s cases, he acknowledged a general sluggishness, partly explained by existing shortages but not justified overall. He added, “There are matters that should have progressed long ago.”

In response to a journalist’s observation that it is unreasonable to expect three people to handle numerous investigations, Mr. Damianou replied, “Completing even a few would be appropriate.”

ELAM MP Sotiris Ioannou stated that the main issue facing the Authority, acknowledged by all, is that it cannot hire employees because it is not a legal public entity.

He also noted that requests for secondments made by the Authority have been rejected by public department directors, leaving “the only remaining option being the procurement of services.”

“We have requested a specific proposal within the next month to address this major issue. Our message is that combating corruption should not be placed alongside state budgetary concerns,” Mr. Ioannou said.

He added, “If we want to combat corruption, we must not let any other considerations take precedence.” He emphasized that “corruption is one of the greatest challenges facing Cyprus and the biggest enemy of economic development, prosperity, and the cohesion of a rule-of-law state.”

“Instead of empowering the Authority to fight corruption and uncover the scandals it investigates, we are disarming it each time,” he concluded.