The House audit committee cancelled its session on Thursday “as a mark of respect” to Odysseas Michaelides, who was fired from his post as auditor-general.
MPs were slated to discuss a recent audit report on the ‘e-wallet’ service, which said the deputy research ministry violated the law, adopting a process riddled with conflicts of interest.
The reaction comes as Akel announced a protest against the Supreme Constitutional Court’s decision to have Michaelides fired for inappropriate conduct.
Deputies at the committee meeting were unanimous in their decision to stage a walkout as a show of respect both to Michaelides and the audit office for their contribution to the work of the House audit committee.
Committee chair and Diko MP Zacharias Koulias called the developments “an institutional matter of huge dimensions.”
Considering Michaelides lives in Cyprus “we will be able to ask for his advice,” he added. He rebuffed questions of Diko walking out of the government in protest of Michaelides’ dismissal.
Akel MP Irene Charalambides said Michaelides transformed the way the audit office operates, in line with transparency and accountability.
She added that in the past, the House audit committee would receive a report from the audit office once a year spanning some 700 pages.
This would include a slew of issues but would not manage to prevent squandering public money on time.
“Odysseas Michaelides changed the way the audit office worked, with targeted reports that reached our hands on time so we could protect the public interest.”
She called him a thorn in the side of a “system that tried to protect itself.”
Charalambides charged that he brought numerous scandals to the fore and based on his findings “if we had a rule of law, many from the political sphere should be facing justice.”
Asked if she would support Michaelides in his next steps, she said she did not know what they are, and he should be given some time.
Disy MP Savia Orphanidou said the committee meeting should have been cancelled since Wednesday as a sign of respect to the members of the audit office.
She added Disy had taken a clear stance and “expects everyone’s cooperation, the institutions, state and political parties, to take a step further and modernise what we need to modernise.”
Her statements are understood to be referring to the bills aimed at reforming both the audit office and legal service. The former has described the proposals as an attempt to stifle its reports.
Reforms of the legal service are part of the EU Commission’s proposals to separate the dual role of the attorney-general.
Independent MP Alexandra Attalides expressed her disappointment over Michaelides’ dismissal saying citizens “lost a great ally that protected the state’s finances, and by consequence the public interest.
“The deep state managed to obliterate the last pillar” against corruption, she added.
“The state, the legal service and attorney-general have managed to have Odysseas Michaelides fired from his position.”
Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said President Nikos Christodoulides will take decisions over the appointment of a new auditor-general in the next few days.
