Filenews 2 September 2022
A meeting to discuss various issues that concern the communities in view of the operation of the clusters of the community services in June 2024, was held on Wednesday by the Minister of Interior Nikos Nouris, in the presence of the Director General and other officials of the Ministry, with the President and members of the Board of Directors of the Union of Communities of Cyprus.
At the meeting, according to an announcement by the Union of Cyprus Communities, it was agreed that an intensive dialogue should begin immediately between the Union of Cyprus Communities and the Ministry of Interior in order to determine the service structure that each complex should have.
It is added that the determination of the service structure was deemed necessary because on this basis the clusters will then have to be staffed, in order to be able to meet their duties and responsibilities on the basis of the Communities Law as recently amended in the context of the reform of local government.
It is further stated that it was agreed that in the context of the above dialogue, the transfer of additional responsibilities to the communities and by extension to their complexes, the regulation of certain gaps that exist in the law and finally to study the redefinition of the amount of state sponsorship paid to the Communities.
Specifically on the issue of state sponsorship, it was agreed, according to an announcement by the Union of Communities of Cyprus, as it is redefined taking into account two basic principles with the first principle being that it will be determined in a similar way as it was done in the case of Municipalities taking into account the population of the communities.
It is added that the second principle is that the state sponsorship will reflect the desire of the State to invest in the institution of community clusters by providing the necessary resources to be able to upgrade the services they will provide to citizens, to apply with undeniable adequacy the legislative requirements, but also to acquire the ability to take on a special role in the development of their areas.
Finally, in the announcement of the Union of Communities of Cyprus, it is stated that the meeting discussed various other requests of the Association while there was mutual information and exchange of views on issues that are pending or are planned to take place in the coming period, such as the organization in the autumn by the Union of Communities of Cyprus, informative presentations to the members and staff of the Community Councils on the new environment created for the communities due to the Reform of Local Government with the operation of District Self-Government Organizations and the integration of communities into service clusters.
