Hiring as a Consultant a person who is 19 years old and does not have a university degree will be patently illegal and abusive, the Audit Service states in its statement in relation to the matter that arose due to the Decision of the Deputy Minister of Tourism to appoint a 19-year-old student as a Consultant/Associate .
EY advises the Deputy Minister not to implement such a plan and to disengage from such a commitment. "In the event that an expenditure is made against such an appointment, we will submit a relevant complaint to the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority for examination of the possible commission of the offense of abuse of power", he notes.
In the announcement, EY states that as early as 2014 it expressed strong concerns in relation to the appointments of employees as partners of the PtD, Ministers and MPs. Recognizing, however, he adds, the need to employ competent and trustworthy persons to support these officials, we agreed to an exceptional procedure for political appointments of such collaborators, which would however be legislated, and in any case would be applied with particular sparing and on the basis of strict conditions.
He mentions that on 16.10.2014 the Presidency replied that it has proceeded with the preparation of terms of service for the Councilors of the PtD and the Ministers, to ensure uniformity and to avoid different interpretations of the terms of their contracts and that finally, the 2016 State Budget included relevant note and model contract, but without defining employment criteria and conditions.
In contrast to the Government, he notes, the House of Representatives accepted our position for legislative regulation of the employment of parliamentary associates and passed the 2019 Law on Parliamentary Associates and Related Matters (L. 41(I)/2019).
As he mentions, after the passing of the above Law, he came back to the Government on 13.3.2019 and proposed to establish a legal framework regarding the remuneration and other benefits of the Commissioners and Special Advisers of the respective President of the Republic, in the explanatory memorandum of the Budget, the Presidency to determine its needs for Councilors, the amount of their remuneration according to the duties of the position and the necessary qualifications.
Then proceed to purchase services to meet these needs, based on defined procedures and for transparency purposes to make public the names, qualifications, position and remuneration of the Consultants selected.
EY reports that the Presidency of the Republic rejected these proposals on the grounds that such a framework would provide great inflexibility, a position with which we do not agree. At the same time, however, he informed that the Council of Ministers, by its Decision, taken on March 27, 2019, approved a comprehensive employment framework for such Councillors. Based on this framework, the Consultants should have completed their twenty-first (21st) year of age and hold a university degree recognized in the Republic.
"The importance of such positions of Councilors of the Council of Ministers and Ministers is also presumed by the fact that the GRECO Committee of the Council of Europe, as well as the European Commission, consider the position of Councilor to be a position of influence and therefore request that the holders of such a position they make statements about it," he notes.
Based on the above, says EY, "we consider that the hiring as a Consultant of a person who is 19 years old and does not have a university degree will be patently illegal and abusive. It is therefore our suggestion to the Deputy Minister not to implement such a plan and to disassociate himself from such a commitment."
In the event, he adds, that an expenditure is made against such an appointment, we will submit a relevant complaint to the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority for examination of the possible commission of the offense of abuse of power.
"Our Service will request details of all the Consultants who have been hired by the PtD, the Ministers and Deputy Ministers and will make public as much of this information as is permissible to be given. To this end, the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection will be consulted", he concludes.
Source: KYPE
