In light of recent research that suggested the state’s phone bills amount to about 285 million euros a year, the Secretariat for Information Systems of the Greek Finance Ministry decided to launch an electronic system in order to monitor telephone calls made from government offices and the broader public sector.
The Secretariat for Information Systems will launch from May 1, an electronic database including all landline and cellphone numbers being billed to the Greek state extending from the residence of the Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, to individual Citizen Information Centers (KEPs).
Greece’s budget foresees 125 million euros for the phone calls of the Greek government, mainly from the ministries offices. However, it is considered that the initial amount is exceeded by at least 10 million euros. Moreover, the wide network of local authority offices and other state organizations which amount to more than 30,000, adds another 150 million euros to the bill.
Prior to the launch of the electronic system on May 1, the Greek government has asked all state organizations and services to create a database of all the telephone numbers they use. As reported by the Government Gazette last week, telecommunications companies will create corresponding databases recording the amount charged for each connection in order to find out which offices are overspending on telephone calls.
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