The Mayor of Paralimni, Theodoros Pyrillis, left the current annual General Assembly of the Union of Municipalities in a rage.
The Mayor of Paralimni, who is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Union of Municipalities, submitted a proposal for a change in the distribution of the annual contribution of Municipalities to the Union of Municipalities based on state sponsorship received and not based on municipal revenues.
The proposal of Theodoros Pyrillis did not receive a majority and therefore he left the Assembly reacting strongly to the fact of injustice as he states that the Municipality of Paralimni exists.
In his communication Famagusta.News with Theodoros Pyrillis, he stated that the Municipality of Paralimni unjustly pays every year 10% of the total sponsorship received by the Union of Municipalities, while at the same time the Municipality receives from the Government only 2,5% of the total state sponsorship to the Municipalities. Therefore, he said, he left the General Assembly, thus expressing his strong opposition to the current situation.
Deletion of a Municipality from the Union of Municipalities for the first time in the annals
After the departure of Theodoros Pyrillis and the non-majority in the submitted proposal, the Union of Municipalities took a relevant decision to delete the Municipality of Paralimni from the collective representative body, which according to information happens for the first time in history, since the establishment of the collective instrument in 1981.
The Famagusta.News contacted the President of the Union of Municipalities of Cyprus and Mayor of Larnaca Andreas Vyras who stated that the deletion of the Municipality of Paralimni was based on statutory provision which concerns the non-payment of the annual sponsorship. As he mentioned, the Municipality of Paralimni for the last seven years at least refuses to pay the full amount of the corresponding sponsorship, paying only an amount as they see fit, resulting in a contribution of € 20.000 lower each year.
Nevertheless, according to Andreas Vyras, he is expected to clarify whether there will be a specific agreement with the Municipality of Paralimni, so that the Union of Municipalities can proceed with its re-registration, while according to information from Famagusta.News it has not clarified whether the opinion of Theodoros Paralimni are then shared by other representatives of local authorities.
The Union of Municipalities of Cyprus
The efforts of the Municipalities for the establishment of the Union began in the early 1980s on the initiative of the then Mayor of Nicosia Mr. Lellos Dimitriadis. The founding General Assembly was held on November 26, 1980 at the Municipal Palace of Nicosia. It was attended by representatives of all 15 urban and rural Municipalities of Cyprus, as well as 2 Members of the Improvement Councils of Agios Dometios and Aradippou.
During the work of this Assembly, the Statute governing the establishment and operation of the Union of Municipalities was signed as well as another Statute which provided for the creation of a "Foundation of the Union" and was the financial financier and blood donor of the Union. At the same General Assembly, the first members of the Executive Committee of the Union were elected, chaired by Mr. Lellos Dimitriadis, Chairman of the Municipal Committee of Nicosia.
Strange as it may seem, the Union of Municipalities could not be officially recognized as a legal entity because its members were fewer, then, than the number provided by law. In order for the Union to have a legal status and to make contributions to it, the members of the above mentioned Executive Committee proceeded with a founding act signed on 21.1.1981, to the establishment of the Foundation of the Union of Municipalities of Cyprus and deposited for this purpose the amount of £ 70! This arrangement continued until 1986 when 11 new Municipalities were established, the first elections were held after 33 whole years and it became possible to register the Union of Municipalities as an "Association".
Famagusta.News