Filenews 5 April 2022 - by Vassos Vassiliou
The referral by the President of the Republic of part of the legislation concerning the reform of local self-government and in particular the establishment of the Municipalities of Pegeia and Polis Chrysochous opened a can of worms, since Local Authorities are preparing to appeal to the Supreme Court and even citing the rationale of the referral, in order to torpedo the entire reform.
At the same time, the Ecologists complained that behind the reactions regarding the summary of four communities of Akamas in the Municipality of Pegeia are hidden interests and even ministers and other political figures, which provoked the strong reaction of the Minister of Interior Nikos Nouris, who yesterday attended the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee of Interior.
The President of the Committee, Aristos Damianou, called on MP Alexandra Attalidou to withdraw everything concerning Mr. Nouris, which he did, with the Interior Minister making it clear that he has neither interests nor property within the boundaries of Akamas. For the rest (ministers, politicians or even financiers) Mrs. Attalidou insisted on her complaints and when she was called by MP Nikos Sykas to name those involved, she replied that she can inform him personally but will not refer publicly to names.
The chairman of the Committee, Aristos Damianou, introducing the issue of referral, remarked that if the House rejects it and the President proceed to a petition before the Supreme Court, then the legislation cannot be published, which will lead to the torpedoing of the reform as a whole. Regarding the impossibility of publishing the legislation, the representatives of the Legal Service also agreed with Mr Damianou.
Mr. Damianou, commenting on the invocation of constitutionality by the President of the Republic, wondered why the same sensitivity was not shown with the addition of the Municipality of Aradippou, adding that there is no room for selective invocation of the constitution.
Commenting on the reports of the trichotomization of the Akamas and the invocation of the Akamas Local Plan, he indicated that the Plan has not yet been approved, so no one can invoke it to justify the referral.
He further argued that the referral of the President of the Republic is full of inaccuracies, while he described as hollow some of the legal arguments invoked by the President.
He also referred to Local Authorities which will take advantage of the referral by bringing an action before the Courts and brought as an example the Municipality of Aglantzia.
Finally, speaking on behalf of AKEL, he announced that the party will reject the referral of the President of the Republic to whom he appealed not to proceed with a petition to the Supreme Court, "which, as he said, "will finally put a tombstone in the reform effort".
The Interior Minister, justifying the referral, indicated that "the entity called Akamas has peculiarities and should be treated differently and remain as a separate entity of a complex of communities and not be trichotomized".
He also argued that with the vote of the Parliament, the Municipality of Pegeia is deforested in population, since from the 16,674 residents it would have based on the government's recommendation, the number is reduced to around 7,000, which is expected to create sustainability problems. At the same time, he said that the professional premises that would result from the union of the communities of Chloraka and Emba with the Municipality of Pegeia are significantly reduced.
The interior minister also said that the Akamas Local Plan under development will give the opportunity to highlight the natural park of the area and enhance the viability of the eight affected communities, which is overturned by the decision of the Parliament.
He also said that he disagreed with the non-merger of the Municipality of Geroskipou with the Municipality of Pafos, with the creation of the Municipality of Aradippou, but also with the case of the Municipality of Strovolos, but, as he said, the Government weighed the decision of the Parliament and considered that for the sake of reform it should not insist.
He also argued that with the way in which this legislation has been passed, the Parliament negates all convergences and in addition creates pressures for the intensification of development in these sensitive areas, since it integrates communities of Akamas with the specific characteristics within a municipality that is predominantly developmental, that of Pegeia. At the same time, he said that the problem of urbanization is worsening, something that the Government wants to address with the plans that it promotes in the mountainous and disadvantaged areas, since the way in which the location of the communities took place, within the Municipality of Pegeia, will be given incentives essentially to the residents of this entity to move towards the urban centre, Pegeia, instead of staying in the communities.
Reference to the peculiarities of Akamas
Commenting on political expediency, the Interior Minister suggested that, "when excessive development rights are granted to areas of beauty then yes it can be considered a feasibility". He also suggested that the EU did not raise an Akamas issue but is interested in the viability of Local Government and the number of Municipalities.
Mr. Nouris cauterized the fact that in the new Municipality of Pegeia there will be four different Local Plans. However, the chairman of the Interior Committee, commenting on a relevant report, indicated that there are different Local Plans in other formations and brought as an example the Municipality of Ayia Napa and the communities that were incorporated into it. There is the peculiarity of Akamas, remarked Mr. Nouris, who added that the residents had to be compensated in some way and we had no money to do it.
It was necessary, he added, for zero development to allow some form of tourist and residential development. Ruling party MP Nikos Sykas claimed that the interior minister submitted his views with persuasion, while the Legal Service gave answers for the referral. Ecologist MP Alexandra Attalidou argued that "some ministers had fortunes so the plans were modified to serve big interests that influence the decisions". "An approach that serves the interests and position of the government," he said. If you want the communities of Akamas to stay together, integrate them all into the Akamas Municipality, he added.
MP Christos Senekis described the referral as a hostile move towards the Parliament. What will you say if Deryneia appeals by tabling excerpts of the President's referral, he wondered below. Finally, it called for the referral back to be withdrawn in order to prevent the reform from being overturned. Dipa MP Marinos Mousiouttas described the content of the referral as misplaced.
