Ire at local gov’t tops gripe list
Most complaints received by Greece’s Ombudsman last year related to the poor quality of services offered by municipalities and prefectures, the independent authority said in its annual report released yesterday, as special mention was made of the rude and arrogant behavior exhibited by public servants. Ombudsman Giorgos Kaminis said that more than 9,000 complaints were received in 2006 with the largest percentage – almost three in 10 – relating to local government officials. Kaminis recommended slashing the number of municipalities across Greece to 500 from 1,000 as a means of helping avoid the fragmentation of services. Many complaints were also submitted in regards to pension funds, such as the Social Security Foundation (IKA) and the Farmers’ Pension Fund (OGA). The Ombudsman, introduced in Greece 10 years ago, was often called on to look into cases where social security funds had not performed their duties properly, such as unexplainable delays in the issuance of pensions. For the first time since being introduced, the authority made extensive reference to the poor attitude shown by public servants. «It is easy to see the reluctance of employees and their supervisors toward addressing problems at the beginning, allowing a feeling to develop of staff being free from punishment and being in complete power over citizens,» the report pointed out. One example given in the report made mention of a woman who had requested the name of a public servant so that she could lodge a complaint against him. After the man refused to do so, the woman asked for the person’s name from his colleagues and supervisor but they all refused to answer her. When she formally lodged a complaint about the incident, she was told that her request had been turned down because it had not been made in writing. On the positive side, the Ombudsman commended the quality of services offered by the Citizen’s Information Centers (KEP). KEP is the most successful initiative introduced by the public service, the report added.
