Filenews 25 August 2021
September will be a decisive month for taking concrete decisions on the reform of local government, the Minister of Interior, Nikos Nouris, estimates, underlining that now is "the time of the parliamentary parties".
Mr. Nouris, who discussed in the morning the issue of the reform of local self-government with the President of DIKO, Nikolas Papadopoulos, during a meeting they had at the offices of DIKO, pointed out that the government's proposal is before the parties. "We will have the opportunity on September 9th to discuss in the House but I thought it right and proper to exchange some specific positions with the parliamentary parties precisely so that we are all ready because I believe that September should be a decisive month for these decisions."
The Ministry of Interior said that the Government fully respects any individual different positions of the parties, expressing the belief that "it is perfectly possible to bridge any individual differences on specific issues".
"A dialogue that has now come to be in the nineteenth year on the issue of reform I think has been addressed and has resolved many of the issues," he said.
"We will therefore complete the cycle of contacts with all the parliamentary parties and I would like to hope that it will be possible with the start of the process at parliamentary level to find the common component to give citizens what they have been really waiting for for years: better local government, decisions closer to the citizen, better quality services at the lowest possible cost." underlined the Ministry of Interior.
He also recalled that the commitments of Cyprus to the European Commission concern the completion and implementation of the reform for local self-government, which is ranked, as he said, too high on the part of the EU, until the end of May 2024, to note that this goes without saying that a transitional period is needed, which should start now.
Mr. Nouris said that the purpose of this cycle of his contacts with all parliamentary parties "is not to be consumed from the beginning in a discussion of the provisions and necessity for the reform" and that "the positions on the final goal are common between all parliamentary parties and the Government".
He said the question of whether there is a need for reform and that this is now taken for granted and is necessary is no longer on the table.
"Reform is now imperative because we all simply experience every day the many problems faced by local authorities due to their lack of administrative autonomy, financial self-reliance and operation in a way that helps their development activity, or even in basic services that they have to give to citizens and even services that must be offered at the lowest possible cost", said the MFA.
He pointed out that these things are not happening today in Cyprus because the current system has now completed its life cycle.
The goal is common and I want to welcome the position of the DIKO that it is necessary to come up with and reach this common goal, he added.
He noted that at the same time, however, there are now some very specific data "which we cannot ignore and about which I have informed in person and notified in writing in a letter to the party leaders that was handed over to them yesterday".
As he noted, "we now have specific commitments, beyond the needs, to the European Commission for the support programme for which our commitments concern the completion and implementation of the reform for local government, which is ranked very high by the EU by the end of May 2024".
He said that "in order for this to happen and for us to implement the reform and not to be a hindrance to the further implementation of the programme, but also to the disbursement of the very important resources provided to us, all the processes must be done in time, so that we can implement this reform effort in May 2024".
And that goes without saying and means that a transition period is needed, which should start now, he said.
He added that the Government has a specific proposal which before the House of Representatives "since it is part of our proposal included in the three bills that are tabled and speaks particularly about the issue of elections, extension of the term of office of the existing municipal and community councils until May 2024".
He pointed out that these local rulers are the people of self-government who are knowledgeable about reform, "with whom we have discussed the issue exhaustively in recent years and have solved problems".
He also noted that the Union of Municipalities with its conference decisions is positively in favor of this particular reform and that despite the individual disagreements and the Union of Communities agrees to the reform of local government.
"So with these bodies we think we should continue and complete this effort that started many years ago," he said.
On his part, Mr. Papadopoulos reiterated the position of DIKO that the reform of local government should proceed.
Sure, he said, "there are individual disagreements but in our view these disagreements are not insurmountable. Solutions can be found so that we can proceed immediately to this necessary reform, which will directly upgrade the quality of life of the citizens, the Cypriot citizens.
He added that as far as the practical problems arising from the need to implement and implement this reform are concerned , "we are ready to consider alternative options".
On the issue of extending the term of office of the existing municipal councils, Mr. Papadopoulos said that this is complex and that the DIKO will take decisions on it if a formal government proposal comes up.
He noted that there are issues of practical implementation and implementation of the reform for which preparation and time will be needed.
"We understand the arguments put forward to support the demand for an extension of the mandate, but on the other hand we must note the decisive decision of the electorate in terms of the five-year term in the previous municipal elections," the DIKO President noted.
He said that "because these are complex issues we believe that a dialogue on this issue should be concluded in order to reach final decisions as parliamentary parties".
He reiterated the readiness of the DIKO through a constructive approach and through dialogue "to come up with solutions so that as soon as possible the necessary reform of local self-government can be promoted, so that the municipalities and communities of Cyprus can be viable and on the other hand the services necessary for the proper functioning of municipalities and communities to improve the quality of life of citizens can be upgraded".
CNA
