Filenews 3 May 2023 - by Dora Christodoulou
The investigation against three officers of the Pafos Road Transport Department on the issue of the irregular issuance of driving licenses to foreigners and the intervention in the Department's computer system so that the disputed cases can be settled by appointment in Paphos, has not yet been officially completed. The three officers, however, resumed their duties yesterday, creating a situation unusual for cases of ongoing criminal and disciplinary investigations, as well as for everyday life within the Department.
The suspension they had been placed in view of the investigations carried out on the three officers of the Pafos TUM had been renewed for the second quarter and upon its expiry, they returned to their duties yesterday, which has provoked new discussions on the procedures followed in recent days. However, it was duly clarified that this development has to do with the operating regulations of the TFT and specifically with the provision that the Department is not entitled to proceed with a third renewal of availability. The three officers of the Pafos Road Transport Department were suspended on November 3, 2022 by decision of the then Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Yiannis Karousos, who had filed a relevant complaint with the Police. Based on this, these civil servants were suspected of interfering in the process of obtaining a driving license for candidates from driving schools in Pafos, through the registration in the TUM system with codes of other schools so as not to raise suspicions.
The Minister of Transport made a relevant complaint to the Police, on the occasion of the investigations that followed the finding of very high success rates recorded by specific driving schools in Pafos. This raised suspicions in the Transport Ministry's Control Service, which carried out the investigation that led to the suspension of the three.
The progress of their return to work before the completion of the investigation or in any case, before the publication of its conclusion, caused divergent opinions among the owners of driving schools in Pafos. For some of the owners it is not being treated as a primary issue, while others pointed out that they should not return to the same post until the outcome of the investigation is announced because they will now find out if they are checking some of those who made complaints against them. Members of the Association who spoke yesterday to "F" but did not want to be named until an official announcement of their representative body is issued, stressed that developments with the three officers are a matter for the TFT and its internal procedures.
"We as driving schools," they said, "are concerned about the shortcomings that exist at the Pafos TUM and the consequent inconvenience in serving our citizens - customers. Complaints about interference by some in the Department's computer system are a matter of internal management of the TUM".
However, the majority of Pafos schools, according to the same factors, believe that the Ministry of Transport and the TFT had to manage the case internally before it reached such proportions. The investigation against the three has now been running for six months, they said. It was now necessary for everyone to know whether something was found against them or not.
However, they clearly implied that some driving schools, for their own interests and pursuits, caused or maintained the problem with the allegations of interference and irregularities by TUM officers. The vast majority of schools, however, they concluded, are not interested in the internal processes and problems of the TUM, but in when its chronic problems will be resolved so that Pafos can be served normally.
"We have been told that a new software is already being created that will be operational in 2025," Paphos driving school officials concluded. "So until then, there will be gaps and holes and that's what worries us."
Resetting them does not pose a problem for the survey
Pafos Police Director Nikos Tsapis told "F" that the criminal investigation of the Police has been completed and from this point of view the reinstatement of TUM employees to their duties does not pose any risks of influencing elements or persons.
"All documents have been received and are in the possession of the Police," he said, "the necessary searches have been made both at their workplace and at their homes and we are now waiting for the graphological examinations by the competent departments of the state to complete the file and send it to the General Prosecutor's Office for our further actions." Even last Saturday, said the Pafos Police Director, members of the Police went to the offices of the Paphos TUM and received files and other material related to the case under investigation of the irregular issuance of driving licenses and the intervention in the computerized system of exam appointments.
Noting that it is at least unusual practice for officers who are still officially under investigation to return to their duties, Mr. Tsapis noted that this cannot be avoided in this case, since under the legislation governing the operation of the Department there is no possibility of a third extension of the suspension of its members.
"In the case of the Police," he said, "the availability of members of the Corps, if necessary, can reach up to two years. In the case of the TFT, this is limited to only six months, which have already been supplemented by the two three-month suspensions decided." He clarified, however, that as far as the investigation of any responsibilities of the three officers is concerned, this reinstatement as of yesterday does not pose any risks for the completion of the investigation and the issuance of a conclusion.
