A draft has been prepared for the creation of a Deputy Minister of Sports and for the appointment of a Deputy Minister of Sports, the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Prodromos Prodromou, announced on Friday at a press conference.< /p>
For his part, the President of the KOA, Andreas Michailidis, emphasized that the need to create a Deputy Ministry of Sports is dire, adding that the creation of such a Deputy Ministry of Sports will provide much greater and more opportunities in this field “and we will open more wings to success”.
Speaking at today's press conference, Mr. Prodromou said that in the past, according to what is understood in the government program of the President of the Republic, there had been a collaboration and preparatory work with the CMO and they have ended up having prepared a draft, a initial bill for the creation of a Deputy Minister of Sports and for the appointment of a Deputy Minister of Sports.
As he said, it may not have been possible during this government, the five years of the President of the Republic, to proceed with a Deputy Ministry for sports, but there have already been 5 Deputy Ministries, which with their operation have convinced beyond any doubt on how beneficial this governance reform is by creating separate structures for matters of great importance, such as tourism, shipping, digital policy and innovation, culture, social welfare.
Note that the systematic work done in the field of sports through the federations and through the CMO will be able to find a better future, an area of more systematic cultivation of sports, once a separate state structure can exist.< /p>
He referred to the proposal that has been prepared for a Deputy Ministry of Sports, noting that it is available to the next administration to make decisions, as “we are not prejudging anything”. After this preliminary work has been done we thought it appropriate to share it, he said. “The text is ready – which can of course be further edited for those who wish – but it is a proposal for a Deputy Ministry which is very specific. As in other cases, the KOA can be, as an existing and organized structure for years, the new Deputy Ministry of Sports”, he added.
So, continued the Minister of Education, it is a case of transition from a semi-state organization in a Deputy Ministry, which was done for example in the case of tourism.
“And I would like to take this opportunity to say that if it is decided and promoted in the near future to create a Deputy Ministry of Sports, there will be better possibilities and greater flexibility and to speed up the effort to modernize and unify the sports legislation that is already being done in the context of CMO, but also to continue and develop the many programs in sports, for which the CMO is responsible, as well as to create new opportunities”, he added.
Mr. Prodromou also mentioned that the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, in the event that a Deputy Ministry of Sports was created, would of course maintain the very close cooperation, “which we have anyway with the CMO since a large part of our sports receives country within schools and at these ages of children who are introduced to sports, prepare and start sports activities”.
“I want to thank the President, the management and the rest of the KOA staff for the cooperation we had in this matter as well. We will hand this draft over to the next administration. The President of the CMO and of course the DG of the Ministry will continue to be here, so they will monitor any decisions. If there is such a political decision, it can proceed immediately, I think, with the submission of the bill for legal technical processing”, he noted.
The President of the CMO, Andreas Michailidis, in his statements said that what the Minister has announced today Education is “music to his ears”.
“We have been discussing this with the Minister and the General Manager for many months. We have discussed it many times in our Board of Directors and with the General Director. Together with my colleagues in the administration, I have completed four years in the Organization and I am convinced that the creation of a Deputy Ministry of Sports is an absolute necessity. We have a very close cooperation with the Ministry of Education and its leaders, but we believe that the creation of such a Deputy Ministry of Sports will give much greater and more opportunities in this field and we will open more wings towards success”, he added.
Mr. Michailidis also said that he announced publicly many times that the Board of Directors of the KOM believes that this should be done.
“I always said that it should be with the new governance so that we wouldn't be seen as blessing our beards. I warmly thank the Minister and the Director General and his colleagues, who have proceeded to implement essentially a part of the program statements of the Anastasiades Government, so that the new President, the new Council of Ministers, the new Government can study this matter and if he favors it, – and we hope so -, to promote it for the creation of such a Deputy Ministry”, he added.
Finally, the President of the KOM said that “we will be here – our term ends in January 2024, so we will work with the new Government and the new Minister and the President clearly, if this is their desire in this transition, as the Minister has described it”.
