Every now and again Paphos Mayor Phedonas Phedonos has an outburst relating to some alleged scandal or other, that seems to fade from the headlines as quickly as it appears.

The reasons are not clear. Is he exaggerating or being told to back off? When he speaks of alleged scandals, Phedonos tends to hold back on the details or speaks cryptically.

In June he said he had called an extraordinary council meeting after accusing the government of trying to scupper the creation of an elderly care home. He vaguely referred to party-affiliated “clear political expediencies”.

That was the last we heard of it.

The previous month he alleged that Cyprus was becoming a major player in international money laundering networks between foreign exchange companies in Cyprus and Latin American drug cartels. The police chief publicly called on him to testify, which the mayor responded would however jeopardise his personal safety.

The story once again faded into oblivion after causing major jitters within the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.

Last December, he spoke of another scandal regarding the embezzlement of more than €30 million for neurolysis over a period of two years. Crickets on any follow-up.

It’s not to say that Phedonos has not exposed several big scandals in the past, most notably on Turkish Cypriot properties, the sewage board and waste treatment.

Generally, his outbursts are ignored by the powers-that-be unless the island’s reputation abroad is in danger of disrepute as with the case of the cartels.

This was also the case with the mayor’s latest allegations – that third-level institutions are “selling empty degrees to Africa”. The same day he spoke out, he was immediately called on by the University of Cyprus to name names.

But a week has passed and we’ve heard no more from the mayor while these incredibly damaging allegations remain out there unanswered.

On Thursday the agency of quality assurance and accreditation in higher education called on Phedonos to file an official complaint against the institutions he suspects of selling empty degrees through distance-learning programmes.

According to official numbers, in 2021-2022 some 35 per cent of 52,000 enrolments in private universities and colleges in Cyprus were distance learners so it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that this has happened, but whether it runs into the thousands as the mayor claims, needs to be investigated at the very least.

Phedonos claimed that although some universities may list thousands of students, a large portion may never actually attend. In one case, he said, a class supposedly attended by 150 students had only about 10 physically present, “yet degrees were issued and sent abroad, and payments were received.”

Well, for better or worse, that is the nature of distance learning. Does it mean it’s a major scandal? Not necessarily – only if they’re not attending online lectures or not sitting exams.  The truth is, proving whether each student was or wasn’t would be a monumental task.

Perhaps the mayor should have raised the issue quietly with educational authorities until there was more evidence, unless of course he has evidence, in which case he should produce it.