VANISHING
CYPRUS
“Corruption”
By
Andreas C Chrysafis
June
2010
It
is often said that greed breeds corruption! It is ugly and it certainly
undermines
democracy
and the rule of law. The abuse of entrusted power for private gain it
hurts
everyone,
especially those less fortunate who depend on the integrity of people in a
position
of authority.
But
what is corruption? Why does fighting corruption matter? It certainly does
matter,
because
if not snapped at its root, corruption swells into giant proportions to
devour
social
consciousness. It harms the poor and vulnerable the most. One may suddenly
come
face-to-face
with this virus in places were they least expect it; it is elusive,
cunning and
lurks
in the private and public sector, nibbling away at peoples’ rights and
aspirations.
In
accordance to the EU Council of Ministers’ working definition of
corruption, provided
in
Article 3 of the Civil Law Convention on Corruption (ETS 174), it
describes it as:
“corruption”
means requesting, offering, giving or accepting, directly or indirectly, a
bribe
or any other undue advantage (to any public official), or prospect
thereof, which
distorts
the proper performance of any duty or behaviour required of the recipient
of the
bribe”.
As
a member of the EU, Cyprus is a signatory to that commitment and has a
legal
obligation
to make an effort and wipe out corruption on the island. Has the
government
been
successful so far? Not quite. Peoples’ experiences speak of a different
story!
Whenever
the public has to deal with bureaucracy and the public sector,
regrettably, there
is
a perception that “one must grease the wheel” if they want to get
things done. In fact,
citizens
recognise that corruption and bribes paid to Mr Fifteen Percent Man, are
as
common
as a day. Accustomed to such socially eroding practices, Cypriots are
prepared
to
hand out their hard earned cash in brown envelopes as long as their
problem is
resolved.
It may well be for a medical treatment; have their planning application
seen to;
acquire
a license or a permit for one thing or another; or, see to that a suitable
job
position
is secured for their kin. Even worst still, to get ahead in Cyprus it’s
not what one
knows
that matters, but whom he or she knows!
The
lists of opportunities for bribes are endless. Given that the public
cannot fight the
labyrinthine
system of corruption, unwittingly, people have become part of the problem,
by
tolerating and nurturing its existence.
Law-abiding
nations like the Nordic countries, Switzerland, New Zealand and others,
have
low to non-existent corruption practices due to their powerful and
vigorous law
enforcement
agencies. The rule of law is firmly established in their societies, and
citizens
have
learned to respect the rights and space of others, including law and
order. Actually,
those
nations enjoy tough democratic policies that monitor even the behaviour of
their
own
government. Laws are sacrosanct, and they are protected by an independent
judiciary
system that hails supreme above all others: well above the politicians,
the
parliamentarians,
the government, and well above wealthy and influential individuals!
Within
the echelons of their political structure and public sector,
accountability and
transparency
is held to its highest esteem; something that Cyprus is very short of!
According
Transparency International – a civil society organisation leading the
global
fight
against the practice of corruption – corruption, claws away nearly $40
billion
annually
worldwide at the expense of the poor, mostly due to bribes, cartels,
monopolies,
nepotism,
patronage, cronyism along with kickbacks, black market and bad government
policies
that do not resist corruption.
The
2009 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which is based upon the perceived
public
sector
on corruption, New Zealand scored 9.9 out 10.0, as the least corrupt
country
globally,
while Cyprus scored 6.6 out of 10.0, and ranked 27th place. Greece scored
3.8
and
ranked 71st place out of 180 countries. Britain scored 7.7, USA 7.5.
Australia &
Canada
8.7, while Somalia scored 1.1, as the worse corrupt nation of them all.
Even
at a score of 6.6, it clearly indicates that Cyprus has a long way to go
before it can
truly
claim, that, no serious corruption exists on the island.
The
causes and effects of corruption are issues that are increasingly on the
national and
international
agendas of politicians and other policymakers. The World Bank has come
around
to the view that, economic development is closely linked to corruption
reduction
(World
Bank 1997). It was also recognised that corruption jeopardises sound
governance
and
ethics in the private and public sector. The less corruption a nation
displays, the
greater
it’s growth potential - alongside a fairer society.
There
is a public perception that Cyprus functions under a weak rule of law,
weak
enforcement
agencies, a weak form of justice and weak judicial independence. Combined
all
these together, and the obvious becomes apparent. As a result of that, a
large portion
of
the population has become suspicious of a system that displays so many
weaknesses,
and
many choose to opt out for the safest alternative – pay up the bribes…
get their job
done…
and join the ranks of the silent majority!
Attempting
to minimise or wipe out corruption on the island, it demands time,
political
commitment
and education! At present, the law and the government, both illustrate
that
they
have not matured enough to deal with this phenomenon, but remained
negligently
passive.
Indeed, there are at least as many forms of corruption as there are human
institutions
that can be corrupted. It is also important to take into account that the
present
financial
instability, may play a major factor as to how corruption unfolds in the
future.
The
obvious signs are there for interpretation…
Without
a doubt, corruption is widely viewed as part of life and can be found
everywhere;
it is not simply endemic to Cyprus alone. It takes the form of favours for
cash,
commissions, bending the rules or turning the other way to obvious
illegalities,
especially
when it involves property and land deals, which tops the list of
corruption.
Unfortunately,
laws have also become victims of corruption. They are forever being
broken
and abused by corrupt officials under the very noses of the authorities,
and yet,
those
responsible to uphold the law, frequently refuse to take positive action
on
prosecuting
the offenders. The reason for this is a simple one: nepotism and
corruption!
Paying
for favours is not the way forward… But, until the public starts to
demand
changes
to a bad system and zealously insist for the absolute respect of their
civil rights,
entrenched
in a Civil Charter of Rights, corruption, bribes and favours for cash,
will
continue
uncontested by a social system, that has deep roots into the murky waters
of
corruption.
Andreas
C Chrysafis (info@evandia.com)
Published
Author of:
ANDARTES
– Historical
Novel
WHO
SHALL GOVERN CYPRUS –
Brussels or Nicosia? – Political analysis
PORPHYRA
in PURPLE –
Adventure/Metaphysical novel
All
books are available from bookshops, the Internet including Amazo
