CYPRUS
The Cypriot Government has a problem.
The performance rating of almost all of its Public Servants is currently rated “excellent” so it has no idea who to promote.
In desperation, Parliament’s Ethics Committee has called for a new assessment system for the Government’s workers following its briefing on the situation by the Public Service Commission.
Chair of the Committee, Zacharias Zachariou (pictured) said 93.1 per cent of PS employees enjoyed the “excellent” rating.
“At the end of the day, what is left [to decide on promotions] is their birthdate,” Mr Zachariou said.
He said MPs ought to take the political decisions necessary to create a modern assessment system that would provide the tools to the PSC to promote the most suitable people for the job.
He said a number of Bills had been submitted in the past, although none had even reached the floor of Parliament.
“Even if parties disagree on the Bills, I think they all agree on the necessity of modernising the assessment system,” Mr Zachariou said.
“We have trapped the best minds of the Cypriot society within the Civil Service and we are not motivating them to perform.”
He said the PSC was doing excellent work on recruitment, and the best candidates were being chosen.
Head of the PSC, Georgios Papageorgiou said that problems in the Public Service should be treated as a national issue.
“Everyone should look seriously into why, while some of the best brains are being hired in the Civil Service, a few years later they are locked in a system that inactivates staff, creates disincentives and does not allow them to perform,” Mr Papageorgiou said.
“The debate on the evaluation system must be seen as a priority; we must find ways to get rid of it.”
Nicosia, 29 June 2018
