Despite the significant challenges created by the reform of Local Government, we are preparing as best we can through a road map, while three new amending bills are being prepared, stated the Minister of the Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou, expressing his belief that this "great undertaking will be crowned with absolute success".
Konstantinos Ioannou greeted on Thursday morning, at the Ypsona municipal theater, the 41st General Assembly of the Union of Municipalities of Cyprus, which, as he indicated, is the last one to be carried out with the existing legal operating framework, since from July 1, 2024, we are entering the new era of operation of Local Authorities.
In his speech, in the presence of the Minister of Transport, Alexis Vafeadis, and the Deputy Minister of Research, Filippos Hatzizacharias, the Minister of the Interior stated that "we have entered the final stretch of a marathon route, which presented and presents significant challenges".
However, he noted, reform is done with a very important and non-negotiable purpose, the creation of sustainable and more efficient Municipalities, who will be able to provide quality and more efficient services to citizens, at the local level.
"We have now entered into the details of the practical implementation and these concern the completion of organizational charts for the new structure of the Municipalities, the redefining of the scales for the highest positions, the preparation of new budget standards, the new way of distributing state sponsorship, the preparation of new Operating Regulations , as well as Regulations that regulate personnel issues, new service plans, as well as the preparation of the monumental project, the burden of which is borne by the Union of Municipalities to create a single information system for all Municipalities, which will support all the functions of the modern Municipality ", he added.
Saying that the Ministry is preparing as best it can and one has also been prepared road map whom he follows for the purposes of coordinating all the required actions, Mr. Ioannou emphasized that the reform primarily concerns the Municipalities themselves and the role of the Ministry is mainly coordinating.
Therefore, he continued, it is very important to give the necessary emphasis and to have the corresponding response on the part of the Municipalities themselves, so that all the problems that may arise in the practical implementation of the reform can be dealt with in a timely manner.
He made special reference to the issue of the new information system "EVAGORAS", since as he said it is one of the main concerns of the Ministry and he called on the Municipalities to "allocate the necessary personnel and the time required to assist the Union of Municipalities, towards the implementation of this important project".
As an important challenge, Konstantinos Ioannou also considers the establishment and operation of of Provincial Self-Government Organizations, and in particular the smooth transfer of responsibility for development licensing to these Organizations.
Some provinces, he indicated, have advanced to a great extent in relation to the required preliminary work, while some others show delays in specific matters. "We, as a coordinating body, support the efforts so that everyone can follow the implementation schedules", he added and explained that the effort to successfully complete the reform requires the dedication and painstaking effort of all parties involved.
In addition, he stated that, as various points of the new legislation have been identified, which need to be amended, so that the law to become practically more functional, the Ministry of the Interior, in addition to the bills it submitted last May, is preparing three new amending bills, taking into account the occasional comments and suggestions of the Municipalities and the Union of Municipalities.
“All these actions have completion horizon in the first quarter of 2024, so as to give a satisfactory interval before the holding the elections on June 9, 2024, for the timely management of additional issues that may arise during the last period", he added and noted that the Ministry of the Interior and the Central Advisory Committee are closely monitoring the progress of the work, while the relevant Department of the Ministry is working intensively for this purpose, in close and continuous cooperation with the Union of Municipalities.
In his greeting, Mr. Ioannou also referred to the 30-month period entitled "Strengthening the reform of Local Government in Cyprus", which is implemented in collaboration with the Associations of Municipalities and Communities, through resources of the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
The project, he continued, includes recognition of learning needs, updating of the national strategy for the training of Local Authorities and actions of education and training of elected officials and employees of Local Government Authorities (Municipalities and Communities) in specific thematic units.
As he said, the ultimate goal of the project is the improving the capacity of Local Authoritiesn in Cyprus, to operate in accordance with the principles of the Council of Europe's European Charter of Local Self-Government.
In addition, according to Mr. Ioannou, the Ministry of the Interior is implementing a series of other projects and reforms, which mainly concern the achievement of the goal of promoting balanced sustainable regional development and upgrading the quality of services to citizens and businesses. It is, he said, about seven actions (projects and reforms) in the framework of policy axes related to public health and civil protection, to strengthening the resilience and competitiveness of the economy and on the way to a digital era.
He also referred to the actions of his Ministry concerning, among others, the Integrated Spatial Development and Revitalization of Urban Centers, as well as the Revitalization of the Center of Nicosia and development projects in Municipalities and Communities.
Especially for the period 2023-2025, as he said, the total cost of projects, which are promoted in municipalities and communities, from the budget of the Ministry of the Interior, will amount to €632 million with the costs being distributed to €325 million in urban areas, €236 million in rural areas and €71 million in peri-urban areas.
Besides, he added, "wanting to maximize the implementation of important development projects and infrastructure projects, we have adopted a new strategy, which involves assigning a number of projects to those Local Government authorities, municipalities or even communities that declare their readiness to undertake, on the basis of specific procedures, planning, tendering and the construction of projects".
Concluding his greeting, Konstantinos Ioannou expressed the will of the Government to proceed with determination in the implementation of "this great reform, so that we can deliver to our fellow citizens a Local Self-Government worthy of their expectations".
"We are convinced that this grand project will be crowned with absolute success, offering citizens better quality services that will improve their daily lives", he noted.
Source: KYPE