The departure from the plenary session of the Paphos Municipal Council last Monday, of the municipal groups of AKEL, DIKO, EDEK and ELAM, on the occasion of the approval of the service plans of the municipal service, is taking on extensions. The municipal team of DIKO returned to the issue yesterday with its announcement, which today caused the response announcement of the municipal group of DISY.
The municipal team of DIKO points out that the Municipal Council was called upon to take decisions that must be governed by legality, transparency, meritocracy and exclusively by the real needs of the Municipality. However, during the discussion of the Service Plan for the position of Sergeant, the Municipal Team of DISY and the Mayor proposed amendments, which, as the DIKO team claims, did not serve the needs of the Municipal Service per se, but photographed a specific employee.
The saddest thing, however, is that there was even a reference by name to the specific employee in the Plenary, an action that was wrong and unjustified, because it essentially targets an employee of the Municipality, who does not participate in political decision-making and has never given the right to be the subject of public controversy.
Unfortunately, the discussion was not limited to the exchange of arguments, says the announcement of DIKO to the Municipality of Paphos. Even before the decision was made, an attempt was made to create a climate of tension and disdain, while after the decision of the Plenary, by which the specific proposal was not approved, a verbal attack followed by DISY Municipal Councillors and disparaging behaviour.
We must also point out that the behaviour of a specific Municipal Councillor of DISY is not an isolated incident, according to the municipal councillors of DIKO. It has repeatedly occupied the Plenary Session of the Municipal Council and, unfortunately, it is repeated with ridicule, underestimation and lack of the required respect for colleagues and for the institution itself.
For reasons of respect for the institution, the dignity of the Municipal Council and all its members, 11 Municipal Councillors left the Plenary session, resulting in its interruption and termination, due to lack of quorum, concludes the announcement of the municipal group of DIKO.
In response to what was mentioned, the municipal team of DISY in today's announcement claims that the announcement of the municipal group of DIKO chooses to misinform, falsify the facts and personally target the Municipal Councillors of DISY.
The amendment of the Service Plan was not a suggestion of DISY, he says, but. was submitted by the Administration of the Municipality of Paphos, which justified the need to adapt it to the particularities of the Municipal Service. At the same time, the General Manager of the Union of Municipalities clearly stated before the Municipal Council that the standard Service Plans are not binding and can be adapted by each Municipality.
The municipal team of DISY calls on the DIKO team to answer what service or administrative logic justifies a requirement of 18 years of service for a sergeant position in the Traffic Police, when significantly fewer years of experience are required for significantly higher positions and why the current Service Plan provided for five years of service and it was suddenly deemed necessary to raise the requirement to 18.
The proposal we supported left the process open to all those who have the required qualifications, DISY argues. talking about an attempt to shift the public debate from substance to creating impressions, targeting DISY Municipal Councillors with unfounded allegations of verbal attacks.
The choice to withdraw from the session, the announcement of the DISY team concludes, resulted in the creation of artificial political tension and the discussion turned to people instead of the substance of the decisions.
