AROUND 130 electricians have had their licences revoked after it emerged they had been issued certificates even though they had failed their qualifying exam.
The case is currently in the hands of Attorney-general Petros Clerides who will investigate whether any criminal offences have been committed within the electrical and mechanical services department of the communications ministry which issues the licences.
The competency certificate allows an electrician to install electrical wiring and equipment.
“The investigation took place within the department after it was discovered by an official there that an electrician had failed his exam in 2005,” the communications ministry’s permanent secretary Alecos Michaelides said yesterday.
Andreas Charalambous, the head of the electrical services department, explained that every year an electrician has to renew his licence with the ministry to continue practising. It was during a routine check of one electrician that an official noticed that he had not passed his exams, sparking a widespread investigation at the end of 2011.
“So far the investigation has uncovered 130 electricians who didn’t pass the exam and there might be a few more, but we’re reaching the end of the investigation now so we’ll see,” said Charalambous, adding that at this point of the investigation the names of the electricians will not be released.
He also clarified that as soon as the incident was uncovered an investigation was started. A letter was sent to all the electricians personally explaining that their certificates had been revoked.
Asked whether only one person within the department could have had the authority to hand out the certificates, Michaelides said that “more than likely this person worked together with a few others”.
“It is likely that they were paid to do this,” he added.
Charalambous said that from now on ministry officials have been given strict instructions to check the exam results of all electricians when they come to renew their certificates.
The head of the Cyprus Technical Chamber’s (ETEK), Stelios Achniotis, expressed his concern yesterday over the safety of any installations made by these 130 electricians.
“As a body we’re concerned about the safety of the buildings that they’ve installed [electrical equipment] in,” said Achniotis.
Charalambous however confirmed that no building goes unchecked by the electricity authority when electricity is installed.
