Limassol, Cyprus. The Audit Office has identified serious shortcomings in staffing practices and overtime payments at Limassol municipality, warning that long-running practices exposed the authority to financial and legal risks.
The compliance audit examined personnel management from January 2022 to June 2024 and reviewed earlier practices dating back to 2017.
Long-term compliance concerns
The Audit Office concluded that the municipality’s failures were not isolated incidents but reflected “a long-term deviation from the current legislative and regulatory framework”.
Auditor General Andreas Papaconstantinou said the findings showed practices inconsistent with “the principles of legality and good administration”.
Overtime expenditure
Overtime expenditure rose by 176 per cent, from €492,563 in 2017 to nearly €1.4 million in 2024, despite repeated assurances by the municipality that measures were being taken to reduce costs.
The audit found overtime payments made without prior approval, compensation that could not be verified through the electronic attendance system, and payments made in breach of existing regulations.
One senior official received €114,784 in overtime payments between 2017 and 2023 at the full rate, rather than the 60 per cent ceiling set by a government circular. The approval was granted by then mayor Nicos Nicolaides instead of the municipal council.
Staffing decisions
The report also criticised staffing decisions taken despite legal advice.
Four traffic wardens were reassigned as “assistant clerical officers” and granted personal salary scales, although legal advice had concluded that such transfers could not lawfully proceed unless the entire traffic warden category was abolished.
Similar salary arrangements were identified for several other employees.
Recruitment procedures
Auditors also found that the municipality had used service contracts to cover permanent staffing needs, effectively bypassing established recruitment procedures.
