Where did Greek taxpayers’ money go? To rather useless state organizations…

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Society

“There went the taxpayers’ money!” said a friend upon reading the list of organizations currently considered to close down or merged by the Greek government. “Research Center Kolokotronis? Institute for Cretan Law? Academy for Freedom? What are these? What do they do?” my friend started to read out loud down the list, shaking his head in obvious disapproval. “WTF? There went all our money, all our taxes! In useless organizations just to feed voters with jobs,” he said in a voice trembling with anger.
Are there really such organizations with offices, desks, computers and personnel? Indeed, there are. Daily Ethnos published a list of state-owned or state-funded organizations that are considered to close down or merge with others. Organizations under the auspices of ministries like the Culture and the Justice or the Greek Parliament.

Among others are listed:
Aegean Institute of the Law of the Sea and the Maritime Law
Center for the Preservation of Athos Heritage
Institute of Economic Structures of Ministry of Infrastructure
Organization for the Construction of the New Acropolis Museum ( construction concluded four years ago)
Center of International and European Economics Law
Hellenic Institute of International and Foreign Law
Institute for International Law and Public Relations.
Institute for Defense Analyses and the Center for Research and Technology of National Defense and transfer of responsibilities to ministry.
And as already mentioned at the beginning of the post:
The Institute of Cretan Law (HQ in Chania, Crete), The National Research Foundation Theodoros Kolokotronis “the Old Man of Morea ‘ (HQ in Tripolis, Peloponnese), The International Academy for Freedom.
Organizations set up several years ago research of every kind.
To this list, other organizations are considered to be possibly close down, however after the government will evaluate the purpose of their establishment:

Greek Parliament Foundation for Parliamentarism and Democracy, Research center for Equality Issues, Research Center for Economic issues.

Interesting is to mention that the establishment of the Foundation for Parliamentarism &Democracy as well as the Kolokotronis Reseach Foundation were both approved though a single parliament vote  in 2003. I suppose, all other organizations were approved by the Parliament as well.
Why did Greece need all these organizations that swallowed big amounts of public money year in and year out?
On the occasion of the upcoming closure,  Ethnos notes, citing government sources that they will be objections to closure of “organizations that were created just to meet clientelism needs of members of the parliament and of ministers in the recent past.”
So my friend tipped right from the very beginning: that taxpayers money was lavishly spent just to feed voters by offering work places.
As the government bowed to Troika’s demand to fire 15,000 civil servants until end of 2014, we will still have to see if these organizations will indeed close down and civil servants go home. But then again we will continue coming up for their pensions…
PS with so many research centers, I wonder nobody managed to ‘see the economic crisis tsunami” coming upon us….