Paying former presidents to have secretary , ‘problematic’
The Audit Office has raised concerns about the payment of a ‘personal secretary’ allowance to former presidents and House presidents. The finance ministry stated that the practice would continue as is, despite the concerns. The allowance was introduced in 1988 during the administration of Spyros Kyprianou. Former state officials receive the allowance without actually employing the person declared as their secretary, and in some cases, the declared secretary has self-employed status. The secretarial allowance for former presidents is not taxed, unlike MPs. The Audit Office called on the finance ministry to comply with the law and stop payments where conditions are not met. They also mentioned the possibility of reporting the matter to the anti-corruption authority if necessary.