Pafos Live 8 January 2024
It is necessary to appoint criminal investigators to investigate the reasons why the Council for the Registration and Control of Contractors did not issue its decision in 2016 even though the contractors involved and their directors testified in a criminal court that they were paying officials for the SAPA projects. Under the microscope of the members of the Finance Committee will be put today the budget of the Contractors Registration and Control Council for the year 2024. One question has remained unanswered for seven years: ''when, finally, will the disciplinary proceedings under way before the Contractors Registration and Control Council against the contractor companies and managers involved in the kickback scandal finally be concluded Pafos Sewerage Board (SAPA)?''
In the briefing note sent to Parliament for information purposes ahead of today's session, the president and the eight members of the Contractors Registration and Control Council state that, "the Council's goal is to conclude this case within 2024". They said the same thing last year and the year before.
An appropriation of €10,000 was included in the Board's budget for the year 2024 to cover the costs of the disciplinary proceedings, of which €7,000 is intended to be paid to the law firm that undertook the case on behalf of the Board as Prosecutor.
At today's session, MPs are expected to seek explanations from the president and members of the Contractors Registration and Control Council for why the case has not yet been concluded. As we have been told competently, there is no other disciplinary case in the annals of the Republic that has continued to be heard for seven years. And it is doubtful whether there is a similar precedent in any other democratic country around the world. Therefore, the Republic may already hold a Guinness World Record...
It should be noted that in the past the members of the Finance Committee did not hesitate to commit funds intended for the members of the board and related to the compensation they receive amounting to €70 for each session in order to exert pressure to complete the disciplinary case, which, as it seems, has no end...
They go around with impunity
It is no coincidence that European partners consider our country corrupt. Intrigue, decay and impunity are rampant! It is astonishing that those in power do not worry, do not question and, above all, do not ask for explanations as to why unpunished directors and owners of large contracting companies continue to circulate among us and, indeed, continue to win contracts of millions of euros from the state, even though they admitted in their statements to the police and testified to it. in fact, under oath in a criminal court that they paid kickbacks for the works of SAPA to the former mayor of Pafos Savvas Verga and his friends. Those who pocketed the kickbacks were arrested, tried, convicted, imprisoned, served their sentences and released. But those who distributed the kickbacks were neither arrested nor brought to justice. And the most provocative: The major public projects continue to win since they were not charged in a criminal court and their disciplinary trial has yet to be finalized before the Council for the Registration and Control of Contractors, which should be noted, is appointed by the Council of Ministers and subordinates to the Ministry of Transport.
The contractors involved, as well as their shareholders and directors, although they played a leading role in the scandal with the kickbacks of SAPA, were not prosecuted, because they testified as prosecution witnesses in a criminal court against the involved officials of the Municipality of Pafos and SAPA, whom they named as giving bribes. In order to prove the case in court, the Legal Service reached an agreement with the contractors involved: to testify under oath that they were paying bribes in exchange for not being prosecuted.
Therefore, the competent Council for the Registration and Control of Contractors, which incidentally "aims to promote the profession of contractor..." According to its website, it launched proceedings to discipline the contractors involved, their owners and directors on charges of bribery and decimating elected officials, based on their admissions and statements before a criminal court. On 26/2/2016 the report of the investigating officer was submitted before the Council for the Registration and Control of Contractors, which is a catapult for the contracting companies and for those who manage them. The trial of the disciplinary case began on 28/11/2016. Today 8/1/2024, that is, after seven years, the disciplinary trial has not yet been completed! As if an invisible hand prevents the issuance of a conviction that should be taken for granted since in their statements to the Police the contractors involved admitted that they gave kickbacks to Savvas Verga and his friends. In the event of a conviction, the contractors involved will undoubtedly lose their licence to practise.
The council changed four times
Since the commencement of the disciplinary case on 28/11/2016 until today, the composition of the Contractors' Council has changed four times, with the Council of Ministers appointing new members.
The chairman of the board usually comes from the Department of Public Works and the vice-chairman from the Legal Service. Three contractors also participate in the Contractors' Council as members, who control their colleagues.
Undertake major public works
Following the conviction of elected officials for SAPA's kickbacks, the Water Development Department and then the Department of Public Works refused to award tenders to contractors who admitted to paying kickbacks to Savvas Verga and his friends. The two government departments alleged serious professional misconduct on the part of the contractors. After their exclusion from public tenders, contractors involved in the SAPA scandal appealed to the Tender Review Authority where they were vindicated by a decision of three to two. In their decision, the three members of the Tender Review Authority indicated that the commission of serious professional misconduct requires a final conviction of a court, which in this case does not exist: neither criminal nor disciplinary.
Mr. Vafeadis knows firsthand
The political head of the Council for the Registration and Control of Contractors, the Minister of Transport, Mr. Alexis Vafeadis, knows first hand the case with the kickbacks of SAPA, as he was previously a member of the Council for the Registration and Control of Contractors and participated in the hearings that took place in the context of the disciplinary case.
