One cannot claim that we have a colossal issue when it comes to identifying problems.
However, when you look at the agendas of parliamentary committees or statements by government members or state officials, let alone party officials of the opposition, you realize that the problems identified and publicized are enormous.
The issue is that we don’t provide timely solutions. Whether we don’t want to or can’t, it’s up for debate.
Sometimes we don’t even try. We identify the problem, and each of us points fingers, blaming someone else as the culprit, the issue becomes a pandemonium in the media, and then suddenly the discussion is cut off abruptly.
Another discussion starts for another problem, another scandal, another distraction. And the previous issues are sidelined. That is, until they resurface in the news, usually because something bad happens again and forces us to revisit the topic.
Yesterday, prompted by the discussion about the report by Phileleftheros on the delays in the Nicosia ring road, as well as the dialogue organized by Panicos Hatzianagnostou on RIK’s third channel radio regarding the contracts for large public projects, rarely completed on time and within the initial budget, through an internet search, we stumbled upon a plethora of recent articles by Phileleftheros on public contract issues.
Indeed, all aspects of these issues, which were rightly brought to light yesterday by our colleague from RIK, were discussed again and again in the Parliament and elsewhere. They were thoroughly discussed, one might say. However, solutions were not found. And the discussion stopped. Probably until further notice.
One of the articles was titled “Odysseas Michaelides: Contracts of €115 million without bids – Gangrene and the field of corruption.” Another headline read “Public Works: One in two appeals is accepted – Tenders are thrown out,” and another “Reviewing Authority of Tenders: The reduction (closure) of small (construction) businesses have reduced appeals,” because, as explained by the then president of the Authority, “few players remained in the game.” In whichever way this is interpreted.
Another headline from an October 2023 article exposed how “90% of public works end up in only one company.”
It was a report from a session of the Parliamentary Control Committee, where, in the presence of the Auditor General, the special report prepared on public contracts was discussed.
Many things were said at that session that logically should not allow us to continue as if nothing is happening, without urgent initiatives to amend the laws related to bids, to the extent that obligations against EU binding decisions will not be abolished.
Unfortunately, as happens in many other issues where outrageous errors and reversals are observed, delays, squandering of money, etc., this issue also ended up in the unwanted. It timidly emerged yesterday, the Audit Office made another statement, and the president of the contractors made another one, and we’re supposed to be satisfied.
Obviously, about half of the appeals by entrepreneurs against decisions of state authorities for awarding tenders will continue to be justified, large and necessary projects will continue to be delayed for absurd to outrageous reasons concocted by expensive lawyers, very few players – bidders for the state’s major and expensive construction projects will continue to exist, ending up in court “one in three public contracts” due to problems between the contracting authority and the contractor, and there will be many contracting authorities, among the approximately 650 estimated in the wider state, who according to the Audit Service do not possess the necessary expertise.
As a result, as was said in that session in Parliament, “to be exploited during the conclusion of contracts by the contractors.”
Are the state officials being fooled, they wanted to say? Because they don’t understand or because “some are playing it safe”? Who knows. We’ll be left with suspicions.
