Sustainable Development and the Greek Myth of Aesop (The hen with the golden eggs)

The EU sets out that the objective of sustainable development is to meet the needs of current generations without compromising future generations ability to meet their own needs.

Sustainable development is an integrated approach that includes mutually reinforcing economic, social and environmental aspects.

Anyone can argue that any development today does not endanger future generations. But what is important in this case is the risk assessment that is being carried out and is being implemented as well as the results after the implementation of the developments or these while they are being implemented. And the results unfortunately cannot be hidden.

The results from the development of various investment projects, as they call them, speak for themselves since they have been reflected internationally by various institutions with more recent data that see the light of day in relation to the naturalization programs (which are not the only ones). It was rightly verified that government documents were wrongly leaked to third parties, but this is no excuse for the fact that the programme does not appear to meet the sustainable development target at all. On the contrary, it creates increased not only economic but social and political risks since Cyprus is once again being targeted.

Naturalization programs certainly work in other countries, but in very different terms, conditions and controls. At the same time, each country, depending on its specificities, and Cyprus has many, should take into account the risks and evaluate them so that the programmes meet the objective of sustainable development.

The naturalization programme is certainly not the only investment or other development programme implemented in Cyprus and the results are not in line with sustainable development.

It is really regrettable that most of the projects that are being carried out and which are given importance are projects that lack vision, strategic planning, innovation and development, technology but also added value and are limited as over time of course to concrete and iron, sea and sun and so-called professional services that deal directly or indirectly with the above programmes. It maintains a public service which is primarily concerned with express programmes or with bureaucracy which prevents any thought of investing in sustainable development.

Unfortunately, the above phenomenon is not only Cypriot but international. Economies have been inundated with opportunists rather than institutional investors who favour maintaining a climate of uncertainty in societies because that way they can better regulate the programmes of the grabber. But even in this climate, advanced countries are implementing mechanisms to protect their societies and future generations, essentially regulating the levels and scope of internal corruption. This sounds tragic, but in essence corruption is not eliminated but can be contained so that one “eats” to the point where it does not destroy the social structures and resources of the state.

In other words, the advanced states have learned their lesson from the Greek myth of Aesop, the hen with the golden eggs. They don’t kill the hen that lays the golden eggs today to get all the eggs out of greed, but they preserve the hen to keep getting golden eggs for many years. On this day we still just simply teach him (Aesop) in schools to the next generations.

Yiannakis Mouzouris
Strategy and Performance Management
Expert / Business Consultant / Trainer
B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering
M.Sc.Engineering Management, US