The hope that on February 24 there will be proposals in the plenary session of the Parliament, that will provide a viable Local Government, which will provide quality services to citizens, at the lowest possible cost, Interior Minister Nikos Nouris expressed on Tuesday, reiterating that the government wants to reach an architecture of local government reform, which can stand in the long run.
In statements after the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Refugees, on the occasion of yesterday's completion of the examination of all the issues raised by the amendments of the parliamentary groups to the package of legislation on local government reform, the Interior Minister said that two to three issues remain on the table
, on which there are different positions from the parties.
"There are two issues on which the Government has a clear position and opinion and we will continue the effort to respond to the concerns of the parliamentary parties until the plenary session. And it is the issue of entities and the issue of referendums primarily," he said.
On the issue of municipalities, Nouris said that "they are "not dogmatic on numbers", but as he noted "they are absolute on the fact that any new entities that emerge must be viable in the long run".
He noted that last minute suggestions such as thesuggestion to create a new entity with the Akamas and Peyia Community Association "is undocumented".
Specifically, he referred to a "last-minute suggestion", saying "it is undocumented and has not been put under the torment of technocrats, it has not been possible to measure and much more, this submission ignores the fact that the communities of Akamas will be governed in the next few weeks by separate planning legislation in the Akamas Local Plan, which we have been trying for years to structure with specific parameters."
On the other hand, he added, "the municipality of Peyia has its own local plan, which is another planning legislation."
The Interior Minister also said that "right from the start, a very serious issue of non-uniformity arises in this effort."
In addition, he said that the deficits that will result from entities that may not be viable, the damage at the end of the day "will be paid for by the citizens."
He said "any potential deficits that will arise from the fact that entities will be formed that cannot stand and be viable then the damage will have to be covered by the budget which will be provided and which is guaranteed on the part of the state but at the end of the day what will be damaged is the citizen himself."
He added that "the parliamentary parties have a responsibility that each of their proposals regarding the entities should be documented and be a proposal that ensures sustainability", adding that "we want this to be put into practice at the end."
On referendums, the Interior Minister said that there is no provision in the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus for holding local referendums, but there is a special law.
He noted "they cannot pass a law and after two years ask the citizens if they want the law to exist", to add that "in this way the Parliament abolishes itself."
He added that if the parliamentary parties want to hold local referendums, then they could do so now, to note that later they could pass the legislation.
But, he said, "this is far from the commitment they made to the people."
Finally, he expressed the hope that on February 24, there will be recommendations in the plenary that will provide sustainable Local Government that will provide quality services to citizens at the lowest possible cost.
Source: CNA
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
