Cyprus Mail 10 January 2022 - by Elias Hazou
After years of on-off discussions, a government bill on the protection of whistleblowers will go to the House plenum for a vote next week.
Initially drafted as a legislative proposal by Akel MP Irini Charalambides, the item affords state protection to persons reporting corruption in the private and public sectors. Whistleblowers cannot be sacked, or downgraded, and will be protected by police if threatened.
Speaking at the House legal affairs committee on Monday, Justice Minister Stefi Drakou said that as no amendments were expected from the parties, the bill would be voted on at the House plenary session on January 20.
The bill is connected with one establishing an independent anti-corruption authority while a third piece of legislation regulates lobbying. The latter provides that state and elected officials must declare their contacts along with minutes of what was discussed.
Approval of the bills is included in the conditions for the disbursement of €97 million from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Fund.
Regarding the proposed anti-corruption authority, the justice minister said she hoped ongoing differences in opinion would not delay the bill’s passage.
Under the proposal, the authority will have its own budget. However appointments to it will not be subject to parliamentary oversight – with some MPs warning of the danger that the government of the day might pick people who are not beyond reproach in terms of their impartiality.
Another disagreement relates to the authority’s investigative powers. The Greens have submitted an amendment endowing the body with powers similar to those of the Independent Authority for the Investigation of Allegations and Complaints Against the Police. Otherwise, the Greens argue, the authority would be rendered fangless.
But deputy attorney-general Savvas Angelides poured cold water on the idea, telling lawmakers that doing so would end up creating problems in terms of bringing corruption cases before the courts. He said investigative work should best be left to the experts – meaning law enforcement and the attorney-general’s office.
As the bill stands, the anti-corruption authority will receive complaints and information; after reviewing and assessing this information, it will prepare a report and forward it to the relevant authorities.
Where a criminal offence is suspected, the matter will be referred to the attorney-general. To this end, a special anti-corruption unit is to be created within the attorney-general’s office. It will comprise the deputy attorney-general, police officers, and officers from the anti-money laundering unit.
As far as the authority’s scope goes, it will apply to anyone linked to the broader public sector – the central government as well as a semi-governmental organisations.
Where allegations of corruption involve persons from the private sector, the anti-corruption authority will look into them provided that those persons had dealings with public services.
