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Next Previous Reform TA: Countdown for local communities >
& nbsp & nbspPampos Charalambous & nbsp; & nbsp;
The obstruction observed over time in Cyprus regarding the implementation of reforms adds even more value to the passing of the Local Government reform bills. The new municipalities and the complexes will evolve and from 2024 they will have new possibilities and the opportunity to upgrade the services they provide to the citizens, but also their way of life.
A new page was opened for the Local Government in Cyprus by the vote of the relevant reform by the Parliament, which will be implemented from June 2024.
After years of discussions, controversies and disagreements, the golden formula was found that will put the Local Authorities of Cyprus on a new footing, by increasing the competencies and powers of the Municipalities and the provincial complexes in a wide range of issues.
The new Municipalities will be financially independent and administratively independent from the central state, so that they can pursue a real policy in the local community.
NEW MODEL
The aim of the new model of Local Government is to create robust and economically viable entities by merging municipalities and communities, based on criteria related to their population, local communities, economy (employment, employment structure, income, financial viability) , their geography and development.
The new entities will have financial autonomy and independence from state sponsorship. Nevertheless, it was ensured that the new municipalities would be granted € 117 million per year. Municipalities are required to have balanced or surplus budgets while for the first time a system is introduced that ensures transparency and control, with the obligation to publish on the internet all decisions of municipal councils, budgets, Auditor General's reports, appointments and any expenditure. of 5,000 euros. At the same time, an Internal Audit Unit will be created in each municipality for all the decisions of the municipal council. The new municipalities will also enjoy better control by both the state and the Auditor General.
JOBS
Municipalities will be able to create and eliminate jobs, but the state will be able to intervene in cases of budget deviations. In addition, through the bills that were passed, a ceiling was set on staff expenditures as a percentage of total budget expenditures.
Also, new responsibilities are assigned from the central administration to the local administration so that they enjoy the greatest possible proximity to the citizen. In this context, a large number of responsibilities are transferred from the central state to the municipalities.
Another important change is the transformation of the & nbsp; Association of Municipalities into a Legal Entity under Public Law, which will give it a stronger role in relation to with today.
POSSIBILITIES
Through the reform of the Local Government, the municipalities acquire a series of possibilities. In particular, they will be able to establish municipal policing with specific responsibilities and powers while they will have the opportunity to provide intra-municipal transport for the benefit of citizens. Municipalities will also be contracting authorities, so that they can easily mature their own development projects, without depending on the priorities and bureaucracy of the state, while the school ephorates are transferred from the ministry to the supervision of local authorities and will operate with separate legislation. At the same time, their role in social policy is strengthened, so that social housing, kindergartens, nursing homes can function more efficiently while they will utilize and maintain local infrastructure (parks, green spaces, etc.). In fact, through the reform, the municipalities are given the opportunity to impose a special fee, for a specific period of time, for the construction of infrastructure projects after a referendum. For the improvement of the provided services or for development projects they will be able to utilize a fund between € 30 million- € 50 million that will result from the mergers, while the change of the way of their financing but also the savings that will result will lead to increased in the medium term. resources by € 60- 80 million
LESS FEES
Many of the above will have direct and indirect benefits for the citizens, who based on the idea and design of the reform will have to pay less fees than today. Another change that concerns the citizens has to do with the building permits, which will be issued at the provincial level, something that refers to further specialization and acceleration of the procedures that have been bothering the citizens for years. Finally, from 2024, groups of citizens will be given the right to submit written proposals to the municipal council for problem solving.
INTEGRATING SERVICES
With the integration of services in the communities, we hope that we will solve many problems of the past, in terms of serving the residents and the implementation of projects, which are difficult to implement with the existing data, said for Forbes the president of the Union of Communities, Andreas Kitromilidis. the communities will have their own services, which will serve the needs of the community and the residents. The Union of Communities had asked the Parliament to include in the bills concerning the communities some provisions of the reform concerning the municipalities, in order to facilitate in relevant issues and the community councils and now the publication of the final bills is expected.
< p> ADVANTAGES
Regarding the advantages that will arise from the local government reform, Mr. Kitromilidis underlined the increase of the communities' incomes due to the state subsidies, which will allow the smooth operation of their services and the implementation of additional projects. For the above, meetings will be held with the Minister of Interior. “We still expect to have several meetings to see where we end up as communities and how we will operate and what revenue we will have,” he said. & Nbsp;
Regarding the benefits that will arise for the citizens, the president of the Union of Communities referred to the declarations of the Parliament and the government, according to which the reform of the Local Self-Government is done in order to increase the services to the residents, to be close to them and with lower explaining, at the same time, that the big problem that the communities are facing with the current situation is the lack of staff, secretariat and technicians. The bet is to be able to reduce the costs that citizens pay for the various services, noted Mr. Kitromilidis.
CLOSE TO THE CITIZENS
The position of the Union of Communities is that the transfer of the administrative staff of the communities to the complex should not affect the service of the needs of the citizens within the community. The office staff should be in the communities for a few hours, Mr. Kitromilidis told us, adding that studies will be done on these issues, ie on the staff that will be needed and the way the services should operate, to be close to the citizen. The studies will be done by the groups themselves, which know the needs of each community, with the issue expected to be clarified through meetings that will take place, after the publication of the reform. Specifically, a committee consisting of representatives of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Finance, the District Administrations, the Union of Municipalities and the Union of Communities will set the timetables for the reform and how they should operate, 2024 all the necessary preparations have been made.
POPULATION
Based on the registered voters of the existing municipalities and communities, the largest municipality of Cyprus will be the Municipality of Limassol (73,057) and the second largest is the Municipality of Nicosia (72,920). In particular, in the province of Nicosia the second largest municipality will be that of Strovolos (41,168) and will be followed by those of Lakatameia (29,074), Latsia-Geri (15,921) and South Nicosia-Idali (12,835). & nbsp;
In the province of Larnaca, the Municipality of the same name registered 41,526 registered voters, the Municipality of Aradippou 12,158, the Municipality of Dromolaxia-Meneou 10,397, the Municipality of Athienou 4,006 and the Municipality of Lefkara 2,950.
In the free province of Famagusta, the Municipality of Paralimni-Deryneia & nbsp; registered 18,225 voters and the Municipality of Ayia Napa 16,931.
In the province of Paphos, the Municipality of Paphos gathers 19,406 voters, the Municipality of East Paphos 6,828, the Municipality of Polis Chrysochous 5,035 and the Municipality of West Paphos 4,648.
* From the April issue of Forbes magazine
