Constantinos Petrides, Under-Secretary to the President of the Republic, was hosted at a recent meeting of the Board of the Limassol Chamber of Commerce & Industry, at which he briefed members on issues pertinent to his office, with special emphasis on the ongoing reform process in the public sector.

Welcoming Mr. Petrides on behalf of the LCCI Board, Chamber President Costas Galatariotis said the Chamber and the Limassol business community are fully supportive of the effort to modernise the public service and to align it with the needs of contemporary society.

Mr. Petrides said that considerable steps have been taken and the events surrounding the financial crisis had a beneficial effect in that they facilitated a consensus for change. He went on to say that Cyprus has too many government or government-related departments, resulting in unnecessary fragmentation, which is not conducive to the public interest. The objective is to promote e-governance, where there is a lot to be learned from Estonia, which is Europe’s pioneer in the field. A lot of work has already been done in terms of codifying procedures but this project is still in progress. Certain radical changes have already been agreed for the public service, including the introduction of written examinations for promotions.

Following his introduction, Mr. Petrides, who was accompanied by the Head of the Public Service and Personnel Department, Kypros Kyprianou, provided answers to a number of questions submitted by the LCCI Board on various issues, including the Limassol Chamber’s proposal for a New Industrial Policy, the Pentakomo Scientific and Technical Park, restarting the Cyprus economy, incentives for entrepreneurship and the need for reform at the level of municipalities and other local authorities.