The criticism surrounding appointments to the boards of semi-governmental organisations is “excessive”, according to Advisory Council Chair Giorgos Arestis.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency on Saturday, Arestis defended the new selection system as more merit-based than previous procedures, while stressing that the final decisions rest exclusively with the Council of Ministers.
Council’s role ends with candidate lists
Arestis said the Advisory Council assessed the applications and prepared lists containing three candidates for each available position. These were then submitted to the relevant minister through the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers.
“Our role is advisory. We cannot influence the final decision of the Council of Ministers in any way,” he said, explaining that the council’s involvement ended when it submitted the lists four or five weeks ago.
“The role of the Advisory Council ends when it provides the lists of candidates. It has no say in the final decision,” he added.
Cabinet accepted 80% of recommendations
According to information available to Arestis, the Council of Ministers adopted around 80% of the Advisory Council’s recommendations.
“And all this fuss is being made over the remaining 20%? To the point where they say that the role of the Advisory Council is being abolished?” he asked.
“We did a tremendous amount of work, and 80% of that work was recognised,” he added.
A more merit-based system
Arestis argued that the current appointment process is significantly better than the system previously used.
Under the former process, he said, many people appointed to the boards of semi-governmental organisations had little connection to the organisations’ areas of responsibility.
Candidates are now assessed according to their applications and suitability for each position, he explained.
“There is meritocracy in this system. There are certainly merit-based criteria, much better than those applied previously,” Arestis said.
The system was introduced by President Nikos Christodoulides after taking office and was also used to appoint the outgoing boards.
Source: CNA.
