Just three out of 168 politically exposed persons who did not report for compulsory military reservist duty failed to report once again after being identified by the audit service, whose report was discussed at a parliamentary committee on Thursday.

The audit service’s recommendations on the subject were communicated to both the defence ministry and National Guard in August 2018, Auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides said, adding that steps had since been taken to identify people who did not report for duty.

On behalf of ruling party Disy, MP Rita Theodorou-Superman commended the positive response and the cooperation developed between the auditor-general, the defence ministry and the army.

She also said that the defence ministry prepared an amended bill on the subject that will be tabled before the House defence committee.

Specifically, the bill will update the exemptions from reservist duty for certain categories, such as prison guards, UN civilian employees, and Greek Cypriot SBA police officers.

Theodorou-Superman added that efforts were being made by both the defence ministry and the National Guard to bring the number of politically-exposed reservists who fail to report for duty to zero and that a new upcoming computerised system will help reach the goal.

Moreover, the audit service report stated that, according to data collected in cooperation with the military, as of March 2021, a total of 440 National Guard recruits did not report for duty.