There is a lot to be done, to change the perception of impunity of politicians, Cyprus’ Auditor General, Odysseas Michaelides said during the 4th Cyprus Forum in Nicosia on Friday.
Michaelides and the United States Ambassador to Cyprus, Julie Fisher, participated, among others, in a discussion on “fixing democracy”, where they referred to the responsibility of governments to preserve democracy and transparency.
In his opening remark, Michaelides referred to the role of the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) in each country, in the fight against corruption, even if preventing and uncovering corruption is not their responsibility, as he said.
He added that the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with both those charged with governance and management. “Most important of all: The tone must be set at the top”, he said, adding that governments need to develop effective strategies to manage the risk of fraud by considering both fraud prevention and fraud detection.
As long as accountability is diminished and often completely absent, and as long as corruption thrives, democracy is in danger, he said.
In the discussion that followed, Michaelides also referred to the attacks against Cyprus’ Audit Office, noting that they serve political purposes and that there were established pillars of independence that must be protected by the State. He also said that SAIs should be strictly politically neutral and maintain their standards.
Asked about the perceived impunity of politicians in Cyprus he said he agreed with that, and that such cases violated the pillar of the rule of law, in that everyone is equal before the law. Perhaps because we are small countries, there is a lot to be done, to change this perception, he said.
Ambassador Fisher, in her opening remarks, referred to the need for governments to preserve democracy and a speech by former US President Ronald Reagan that resonates with her, as she said, in which he admonished Americans that it is each generation’s duty to fight for democracy because it is a generation away from extinction.
She also said that governments have a responsibility to their voters to be able to answer to major challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and inequalities, and must be able to produce results, noting the importance of good governance.
(Cyprus News Agency)
