The Mayor of Ayia Napa, Mr. Giannis Karousos, records his concerns, as well as his proposals for the Local Government Reform, in a letter to the President of the Union of Municipalities, Mr. Andreas Vyras. At the same time, it requests the convening of an extraordinary General Assembly.
Mr. Karousos calls on the Union of Municipalities to take action and stop its passive attitude, citing the Union of Communities as an example.
Mr. Karousos also states that the executive of the Union of Municipalities acts outside the terms of its mandate since it states that "The Union of Municipalities with its actions or if you want with its non-actions and its tacit tolerance, unfortunately sends the message that it is in favor of the unions, which is in complete contradiction with the positions of the General Assembly and the positions of its members ".
At the same time, the Mayor of Ayia Napa states that the working group appointed by the executive of the Union of Municipalities to consult with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not objective as it consists of representatives who will either benefit from the mergers, or support the mergers and emphasizes the importance of to appoint representatives from all the provinces and from all the peculiarities of the Municipalities, representing both the Municipalities that are wronged and those that benefit.
Calls on Mr. Vyras to ask to take into account the study of the Italian Notoria, which was done on behalf of the Union of Municipalities, where in this all the peculiarities of the Municipalities were evaluated (territory, population, economy, semi-occupied, tourism, infrastructure, road networks etc.) and even quoted a relevant rating of all Municipalities, something that unfortunately the Designer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not take into account.
Mr. Karousos asks the Union of Municipalities not to accept mandatory mergers or even downgrades of the existing Municipalities, especially since the same will not apply to the communities, since with some exceptions, all communities retain their status and entity. .
The Mayor of Ayia Napa also believes that the Union of Municipalities should reject the principle of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the reduction of the number of Municipalities is not an end in itself, but a mandatory condition, and to put the discussion on its proper basis. That is, in which responsibilities should be transferred to the Municipalities and in how a proper reform will be designed and implemented.
Mr. Karousos considers it necessary that the Union of Municipalities should prepare its own proposal / bill based on its study prepared by the Union of Municipalities, while emphasizing that the necessary consultation with all Municipalities has not preceded, something that is now considered necessary condition when creating new legislation.
The Mayor of Ayia Napa notes with regret that there are at least 9 tourist Municipalities in Cyprus and the tourism factor has not been taken into account at all, as well as the financial strength, sustainability and the specificity of the active population of each Municipality.
Famagusta.News