Filenews 13 July 2025
It is too early to judge whether the Local Government project has succeeded or not, said Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou in statements in Paphos.
In general, the reform of the TA was not ideal, much more needs to be done legislatively, but it is certainly better than what existed before, Mr. Ioannou said in his statements after the end of the memorial service for the black anniversary of July 15, 1974 at the Metropolitan Church of St. Theodore.
The Government of Nikos Christodoulides, he said, has given the tools to both the District Organizations and the Municipalities to be able to cope with the reform, adding that the goal as a Government is to continuously improve this and to date they have submitted two packages of amending legislation.
Mr. Ioannou noted that we have completed one year since the operation of Local Government with the new framework, there are various issues, it was expected that some problems would exist anyway due to the size of the reform.
He said, for example, that as far as licensing by 46 authorities is concerned, we now have five, so we now have a matter of familiarity with the new data, adding, however, that from then on they observe some other problems which they expect to be solved over time.
Specifically, he said that "as far as licensing is concerned, we have proceeded with the implementation of 22 measures and we have seconded experienced and qualified personnel".
"But I understand that even more staff needs to be recruited," he said, noting, however, that they have recently proceeded with the simplification of licensing which will decongest the sector.
The Minister of the Interior noted that beyond that, however, for example, the Provincial Organizations, as administratively and financially independent organizations, should already proceed with the improvement, whether this concerns licensing or other issues that concern them.
Asked about this, the Minister of the Interior said that it is too early to judge whether the TA project has succeeded or not.
In general, he stressed, the reform of the TA was not ideal, there was still much to be done and legislatively, but it is certainly better than what existed before.
"I believe that in the long run it will be beneficial to local communities precisely for the reason that we have united many authorities under five organizations and this concerns water supply, sewerage, and licensing," he said specifically about the Provincial Local Government Organizations.
The Minister of the Interior then noted that a lot needs to be done, a lot of work is needed from the Provincial Organizations, stating, however, that the reform will be very beneficial to the communities.
The fact, he noted, that they have now created networks where experienced staff will soon be hired will give them the opportunity and the opportunity to be able to carry out the tasks much better.
"Recently we had submitted proposals that were adopted for duties for deputy mayors, various other issues we are trying to resolve and our goal is, as we have stated, to see what will be done with the number of deputy mayors, as well as with an evaluation of whether even more mergers of municipalities are needed," Mr. Ioannou concluded.
President of EDA Paphos
There are still some problems in the Paphos HOA, admitted the President of the Paphos HOA, Charalambos Pittokopitis.
In particular, he mentioned, the licensing issues, which, however, as he said, are dealt with the support of the Executive and in particular with the Minister of the Interior. On this occasion, he thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the support and for the renewal of the secondment of competent executives from Urban Planning "to support us until we move forward with the legal positions" as a Provincial Organization.
