The telephones of mayors and local actors caught fire after the leak of the "orphan" intention of various parties to reduce the number of new Municipalities to five.
Mayors close to DISY, after the first shock and the reactions and obviously after being informed of which they happened, changed their tropes and now in discussions that are taking place, it is implied that the intention was not to reduce the municipalities to five but to put pressure to reduce their number is around 17, as the Government wishes. However, some local actors had managed to acknowledge in discussions that, indeed, the solution of the five municipalities was not just a firework.
However, it is considered a given that if the number of municipalities is reduced, Deryneia, which is controlled by AKEL, will disappear from the map. At the same time, a background seems to be developing as to who will control Pegeia, something that will depend on which communities will be integrated into the new municipality. According to information from "F", it is also "played" whether Geroskipou will be a separate municipality as well as who will control it politically.
The president of the Union of Municipalities, Andreas Vyras, is sending a letter to the Minister of Interior today, asking for information as to whether the Government is considering reducing the number of municipalities to five or whether it still insists on the agreed maximum of 17 municipalities. Yesterday, Mr. Vyras, as the day before yesterday, received telephone calls from mayors of almost all parties, who asked to be informed whether he had been informed about what was happening. Answering a relevant question of "F", Mr. Vyras stated that there is a disturbance in the Local Government, so it would be good to clarify the situation as soon as possible. We discussed the issue of the reform in good faith and made concessions for the new schemes to work to the point that provoked reactions within the Union of Municipalities, said Mr. Vyras, adding that the mayors should be kept informed about the discussions that are taking place. .
It is worth noting that DIKO, which is said to be one of the parties that participated in consultations to reduce the number of municipalities to five, until yesterday afternoon and although the issue of reduction was widely discussed, did not even issue a statement to the which clarifies its position, thus reinforcing its involvement.
On the contrary, DISY and AKEL issued announcements while the Minister of Interior insisted on the viability of the reform project, referring to the referendums, which the Government accepted with a heavy heart, however, preferring to hold a single referendum instead of the local ones.
DISY spokesman Dimitris Dimitriou said that the Democratic Alarm is the party that dares and makes major reforms, as it did with the GESS.
We are talking about substantial reform, which will reduce bureaucracy and increase productivity, said Mr. Dimitriou, who referred to "economies of scale ", with functioning municipalities, the number of which may not exceed 17.
AKEL, responding to DISY, through the representative of George Koukoumas, indicated: Alarm says a lot in its announcement but does not answer the crucial question of the day. What does the ruling party - but primarily the Government - say about the scenarios of about five municipalities that have been leaked to the media in recent days? Do they reject or discuss them? Mr. Koukoumas concluded by saying that "one is the conclusion. At a time when there was a broad consensus on the reform, the Government and the Alarm are backing away and playing games behind the scenes. "By the time we get a breath before the reform is completed, they obviously want us to start all over again."
Finally, ELAM, with a statement by the representative of Geadis Geadis, states that "The new postponement regarding the bill of the Local Self-Government and the new delay, confirms the correctness of the proposal of ELAM which from the first moment stated that the elections in the municipalities and the communities should be held normally".
philenews.com