Perdikis for Famagusta Land Registry: "Political kinships and friendships were served"

a exclusive, House of Representatives, Auditor General, Giorgos Perdikis, Famagusta Land Registry, Nea Famagusta

Members of parliament spoke at today's meeting of the audit committee about a series of relaxations and political intervention in order to proceed with the rent of a specific building for the relocation of the Famagusta land registry.

The Auditor General Odysseas Michailidis, reserved the right to submit a revised report on the matter which will be brought before the Advocate General to determine the possibility of disciplinary or criminal offenses.

A spokesman for the legal service said it was too early to say if there were any criminal offenses.

Deficiencies and irregularities

Speaking before the audit committee, Mr. Michailidis again referred to the points included in his report, according to which the building in Paralimni, which was selected for rent for transfer to the offices of the Famagusta cadastre located today in Larnaca, does not own certificate of final approval.

Reference was also made to the deficiencies of the building in terms of parking spaces, to the execution of works for the configuration of the building at a cost that will be borne by the state but also to the amount of the rental price.

According to the data, the initial announcement of expression of interest for finding a building concerned the municipality of the free area of ​​Famagusta while, at a later stage the announcement was replaced with new ones concerning only the municipality of Paralimni and included changes during the contract and reduction of required parking spaces.

As mentioned, the state has also undertaken to carry out works for the landscaping of the spaces, which have been costed at € 500 thousand, while, reference was made to works amounting to € 185 thousand that will be undertaken by the public works department.

The Director General of the Ministry of Transport Alekos Michailidis claimed that it has been agreed to reduce the rent to € 18 thousand per month for the nine years of the contract, which, as he said, will bring savings of € 2,5 million.

He also noted that the state recommends the co-location of government services in common buildings, in order to save money.

The director of the fire service Marios Tragolas, stated before the committee that a certificate of suitability can not be issued for the selected building as there are many shortcomings in terms of fire safety issues. Mr. Tragolas stressed that "there are no discounts on issues related to world security".

Interventions with political implications

MPs spoke of political interventions following a report by the former prefect of Famagusta Andrea Ktoridi that the secretary of the cabinet, Theodosis Tsiolas, was pushing for the completion of the case during the period of the 2016 parliamentary elections and that he had attended a meeting of the committee that dealt with the issue.

The DIKO MP who registered the issue for discussion, stated that the complaints regarding the signing of the contract were reaffirmed, while the building did not meet the necessary specifications from the beginning, however, as he said, "the government closes its eyes and ears" .

He added that the individual set the terms and the government accepted them, while referring to the positions of the director general of the Ministry of Transport, Aleko Michailidis, he expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that he "tried to convince us with deceptive mathematical operations that this is a favorable agreement".

The DISY MP Annita Dimitriou, said that there is already a relevant report from the Auditor General on the issue which occupied the audit committee in several meetings, as he said. He noted that if there is a case of embezzlement of public money or issues that give rise to civil, disciplinary or criminal liability, it is a matter for the Attorney General to consider. He also stressed that respect for public money is above all.

The AKEL MP Irini Charalambidou, noted that questions are raised as to why the building does not meet the required conditions and why the state will have to pay more than half a million for their fulfillment. He wondered who would bear the costs already invested by the state, in case it is not possible to correct the problems of the building.

He spoke of the smell of political scandal, noting that in meetings of the body that took the relevant decisions regarding the building, the secretary of the cabinet, Theodosis Tsiolas, was also present, which is unusual, as he said, while at the same time a representative was not allowed of the audit service.

Ms. Charalambidou reminded that the owner of the company to which the building belongs and which is based in Panama, is a person who has been appointed in public service with recommendations from the cabinet of the government Anastasiadis, President Anastasiadis and former President Glafkos Clergy.

For his part, the president of the Movement of Ecologists - Citizens' Cooperation George Perdikis stated that "we consider that there have been carbine irregularities in the case of the new offices of the Famagusta cadastre". He referred to political interventions in relation to the irregularities and added that the state has concluded an agreement that entails great financial costs and from which political kinships and friendships seem to have been served, as he said.

He agreed, in parallel with the position of the Auditor General, that the financial aspect of the matter should be fully investigated and then criminal liability should be sought, if any.

Source: KYPE / StockWatch