The Mayor of Paralimni, Theodoros Pyrillis, has once again been targeted by complaints and investigations by the Auditor General. The Mayor of Paralimni is once again on the agenda of the investigations of the Auditor General of the Republic, despite the fact that the Audit Office seems to have received dozens of complaints in recent years against the Municipality of Paralimni, but without any results so far and any evidence against the Mayor of Paralimni.
However, according to today's report of the newspaper "Phileleftheros" and its editor, Vassos Vassilios, the Auditor General suggests an investigation by the Ministry of Interior in the first stage and if required by the Police and the Attorney General regarding complaints concerning actions or omissions of the Mayor of Paralimni, Theodoros Pirillis.
According to the report, the investigations seem to be related to projects through which he gained access to a piece he had previously bought and which is said to have been registered in the name of his wife, to two other persons, as well as to a company owned by him and his wife. The works were done, according to the newspaper, at the expense of the Municipality of Paralimni, following a decision of the Municipal Council, which acted on the recommendation of the mayor. Nevertheless, the report does not seem to indicate whether these are non-existent allegations or proven facts.
Theodoros Pyrillis published his assets
However, a few hours before, on Monday night, the Mayor of Paralimni published full evidence of the assets of himself and his wife without leaving any implication for his transactions and assets.
The mayor, according to the newspaper report, is also being checked for work that was carried out on various beaches and provoked reactions regarding the deterioration of the surrounding area.
A reply letter is expected from Pyrilli
For his part, the mayor, contacted by the newspaper, reserved the right to respond to everything attributed to him, citing his own positions. According to the newspaper, the relevant letter-reply is in the final stage of drafting. Among other things, the mayor is expected to quote a relevant opinion of a legal advisor.
The letter of the Auditor General
In a letter from the Auditor General dated February 20, addressed to the general directors of the Ministries of Interior and Transport, the mayor and the members of the Municipal Council of Paralimni and the directors of the involved Departments, initially reference is made to complaints regarding the purchase of an enclosed piece ( to have a public road) by the mayor in the area of Kapparis, within the dead zone.
According to the complaint, 20 days before the registration of the plot in the Land Registry, the Municipal Council, following a proposal by the mayor, decided to draw and build a road to the area.
At the bus meeting, the majority decided, according to the Auditor General's inquiry, that a dirt road should be paved towards the United Nations outpost, as suggested by the mayor.
At the same time, it was decided to plant trees and build an observatory from where visitors can gaze at Famagusta. The letter states that after the registration of the plot, the mayor made statements in which he announced the intention of the Municipal Council to claim development of the area within the dead zone, including the residential one.
Officials of the Audit Service during their on-site visit (12 and 14 December 2017) found the construction and construction of an earthen sidewalk without following the appropriate procedures for registration of a road or sidewalk, so that an intervention in state land could be detected (something that implied ) or private land to be expropriated. An audit of the Auditor revealed that the expenses were covered by the budget of the municipality.
Interventions in the protection zone
Regarding the complaints for interventions in the protection zone of the beach without a decision of the Municipal Council and without the approval of the competent government Departments, the Auditor General points out the following:
- MMAD beach: In addition to the earthen sidewalk, trees were planted and possible intervention was made in the protection zone of the beach. By decision of the Council of Ministers, the municipality was granted the right to create toilets, but instead the municipality announced (for the specific area) a tender for the operation of a canteen.
- No preliminary environmental impact report was prepared, nor was a hydrological study submitted.
- Glyki avo beach (dog beach): The construction / construction of an earthen sidewalk continued without a permit, while a culvert was constructed without a study, design or permit.
- Freshwater Beach B: An on-site visit revealed the laying / construction of an earthen sidewalk and tree planting while on a second visit it was found that two excavators carried out earthworks (removal of soil / rocks) along the coast, within the beach protection zone which is not in accordance with municipality by the Prefect.
The Auditor General also states that in a letter to the Prefect and with the aim of "preparing the beaches for 2018", the municipality requested permission to remove loose stones. The Prefect approved the request, however, indicating that the rocking and construction of dry stones is not approved, nor any earthworks, even in a mild form, so as not to affect the relief of the landscape.
This was followed by a letter from the Prefect to the competent Services, in which he indicated that some works may exceed the ones allowed by the permit he issued and convened a meeting.
€ 191.333 for projects was paid by the Municipality
The letter of Odysseas Michailidis states that the municipality paid 191.333 euros for projects implemented in the area of Kappari, while the payment of payments based on invoices that had not yet been submitted was pending.
The Auditor states that the investigation of the payments shows that:
- While the deputy municipal secretary informed the Tender Board that the municipality's budget had not yet been approved, the House decided to proceed with the process of informing the contractors and signing the contracts, even if the credits were not secured.
- In several cases, works were awarded without a tender or on the basis of previously signed contract prices.
- The Municipal Council decided the ex-post approval of payments after relevant information by the mayor. Such works were road construction, soil transport, bed / umbrella transport, etc.
The Auditor General indicates that, in accordance with the law, the auditing officer (in this case the mayor) and any other official exercising control over the expenditure who authorizes in writing the expenditure in breach of the relevant provisions and the payment, commit a criminal offense.
Source: Phileleftheros / Famagusta.News