THE PAPHOS BEACH FRONT FOLDER OPENS

 Filenews 17 August 2020 - by Dora Christodoulou

Another case concerning the Municipality of Paphos is again placed under the microscope of the prosecuting and judicial authorities of the place. Revealing information from the "F" indicates that the dossier of the redevelopment of the Paphos coastal front, which was one of the scandals put under the microscope of the authorities over the past five years, is currently being reviewed on the basis of some additional data, although in many respects it was considered that the examination had now been completed. The project of the redevelopment of the Kato Paphos coastal front began in November 2007 and was completed in July 2009 after a two-and-a-half month extension. The first phase of the contract was co-financed from European funds, while the second phase, which involved work on private property, was financed from funds from the Municipality of Paphos. The value of the project contract was 7.5 million euros.

According to a survey carried out by the Audit Office, it appears that too many instructions for changes were given without the employer's prior approval. It was found that, throughout the project, more than 120 instructions for changes had been issued to the contractor, of which only 62 were submitted to the Technical Steering Committee for approval.

Following written instructions from the former Attorney General, testimony began to be taken by the investigators of THE PAPHOS, in relation to the case, and more than 15 statements have been taken, while contractors and subcontractors, as well as other persons who were directly involved with the project, passed through the offices of the TAF.

The case was initiated following a report by the Auditor-General in 2014 which found that the Municipality of Paphos had not taken the necessary steps during the execution of the project and had not taken the appropriate measures to safeguard its interests, and that the management, coordination and control of the contract was not sufficient, resulting in modifications to the plans and additional work being carried out. , without the prior approval of the municipality, which eventually led to the overpayment of the contractor.

In addition, according to a letter received by the Police for the initiation of the investigation and on the basis of the findings of the Audit Office, several errors were made concerning delays in the approvals for tenders by subcontractors, while the procedures laid down for the conclusion of separate agreements were not followed when the additional procedures were awarded. In addition, additional work may not be carried out, which may not fall within the limits specified and permitted in the contract.

According to the audit office's report, amounts were paid to the contractor against debts, without the issuance of regulations, certificates and audits, amounts were paid directly to the contractor's suppliers, records were not kept of the hours worked by the contractor overtime for which additional payment is required, thus assessing the contractor's requirements using the global approach method. , and more.