OPINION

Curbing excessive perks

One can only welcome the fact that the Socialist administration of Prime Minister George Papandreou wants to set curbs on the spending, salaries and perks of Greece’s central bank officials. Giorgos Provopoulos, the governor of the Bank of Greece, has already announced a voluntary reduction in his own salary but senior officials at the country’s central bank continue to enjoy a number of outrageous privileges. Eradicating these special benefits and privileges will no doubt help reinforce the credibility of the organization. After all, many of its senior officials have, for years, routinely recommended stricter measures to slash waste and help remedy the serious maladministration in the country’s inefficient and dysfunctional public sector. Should the government push these measures through, it would protect the central bank officials against accusations of applying double standards – especially now that the nation has been confronted by a formidable economic crisis.

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