Gripes about civil service rose 26 percent last year

There was a 26 percent rise in the number of Greeks complaining about the country’s public administration last year compared to 2012, according to the annual report compiled by the Ombudsman.

A total of 14,738 complaints were made in 2013, which is also 38 percent up on 2011, Ombudsman Kalliope Spanou informed Parliament Speaker Evangelos Meimarakis as she delivered the report. “The proper functioning of institutions is not a luxury, even in a period of crisis,” said Spanou. “The aim of increasing public revenues tends to override all other interests.”

The most common complaints were about social security funds (28 percent of the total), followed by the Finance Ministry, which drew 17.4 percent of all gripes. The watchdog found good grounds for 54 percent of the complaints and managed to settle 81.5 percent of them successfully.