The recent reports by the Auditor General on the cost of electricity, the delays in the natural gas project and the broader inefficiency of the state lead every sensible citizen of this country not only to worry but at times to feel that they are on the verge of panic.
Andreas Papaconstantinou estimated that the non-arrival of natural gas is one of the greatest failures of recent years, resulting in the Cypriot economy being burdened by approximately €300 million annually due to the continued use of fuel oil and the payment of emissions rights. The Auditor General also argued that the biggest problem of Cyprus is not only corruption but primarily the inefficiency of the state mechanism.
The intervention of the Auditor General constitutes a clear warning of the deep crisis of inefficiency that runs through the Cypriot state and which costs dearly both to the economy and to society. The references to burdens of millions of euros are not theoretical. They are directly transferred to household bills, to businesses and to the competitiveness of the country, keeping the island in a state of energy poverty.
The issue, however, is not only the energy sector. The core of the problem is state inefficiency. A situation that does not function independently of corruption but is directly linked to it. When processes are delayed for years, when projects of strategic importance derail without accountability, when decisions are lost in bureaucracy and lack of transparency, then corruption finds fertile ground to grow and become entrenched.
For this reason, the greatest threat to Cyprus is not only individual cases of corruption that occasionally come to light. It is the normalisation of a culture of impunity, delays and lack of accountability. It is the perception that the state is unable to fulfil its basic obligations, even when the public interest is evident and the cost of inaction is enormous.
We are not discovering anything new. This reality fuels the erosion of institutions and the frustration of citizens. Citizens do not lose trust only because they hear about scandals. They lose it because they see every day a state unable to deliver results, implement plans, assign responsibility and protect the public interest. They see a state that often appears incapable of managing even issues that directly affect the economic survival of households.
The natural gas case is perhaps a striking example of this dysfunction. It is the result of a failed energy policy but not only that. In essence, it reveals the structural weaknesses of the state system, the lack of coordination, the absence of accountability and the long-standing inability to translate announcements into action.
