Cyprus Mail 2 February 2021 - by George Psyllides
Local authority reform must be approved as soon as possible, Interior Minister Nicos Nouris, said on Tuesday, as he warned political parties that fiddling with its provisions would put the schemes viability at risk.
Nouris met with the Union of Municipalities to discuss the situation after opposition parties decided that local referendums must be held to approve or reject mergers between communities, a key component of the reform.
They also want the number of municipalities to be reduced to 20, from 30, and not 17 as the government proposes.
Speaking after the meeting, Nouris said what needed to be clarified was the issue regarding referendums, which has been forwarded to the Legal Service for advice.
President Nicos Anastasiades has said that should the opposition insist, then the proper procedure was to have one referendum and not many local.
Nouris said the union and the ministry reaffirmed the position that local authority reform cannot wait any longer.
The two sides also discussed the number of municipalities with the minister reiterating the need to “remain within the scenarios proposed to parliament, not because the particular number is an end in itself but simply because we don’t want to put the viability of the reform in danger.”
Nouris said the reform’s viability is not secured through the scenarios proposed by parties.
MPs have also been warned that the reform was an obligation towards the European Commission and there was a serious possibility of losing funding worth €980m from the recovery fund.
The union itself, however, has expressed concerns over the provision to set up five district councils that will issue building permits.
Nouris said he had assured the union that the government was prepared to include provisions that would enable local authority participation in the licensing process.
He said the aim was to allay concerns that by affording the licensing power to district councils the municipalities would be left out.
“Its not our intention. Municipalities must have a role and a say in licensing issues,” he said.
The particular provision was designed to cut the number of licensing authorities and simplify procedures to help implement local zoning plans and have uniform policies in each district.
Union chairman and Larnaca Mayor Andreas Vyras said there was no time for postponement.
He said a lot of important work had been done in the over three years since the latest effort was launched.
“We arrived at a bill, which includes basic and enduring local authority positions, and this bill is the basis on which the reform will be based on.
Of the number of municipalities, Vyras said it was not the main issue.
“Mergers and unions are a ‘necessary evil’ in a bid to achieve the reform. To have the authorities we want and to be able to have the control we must have, there must be a specific size,” he said.
Vyras said the union’s position was against having referendums. That was the decision of the general assembly, irrespective of personal views.
