A meeting with the Limassol Mayor and colleagues was held by the Limassol Ecology Movement's District Secretary Edmond Haguila.
As he said in a written statement "I would like to personally thank the Mayor, Mr. Nikos Nicolaides, the Municipal Agronomist Mr. Stavros Ioannidis and the Deputy Head of the Health Department Mr. Phanos Panagi, for giving us their time from their busy schedule today. The meeting was very constructive and although short, several issues were raised. It is obvious to us that the Mayor and the Municipality services are making a lot of efforts for our Limassol and not only for today but also for the future.
We have also realized that there is a problem of communication from the Municipality to the citizens. We have offered to help the City Hall with communication and this was one of the reasons why the Mayor accepted our suggestion to hold more frequent meetings so that we can be officially informed and we can also inform the citizens who contact us about various issues.
We also referred to the burning issue with the projects that are being done in the Public Garden. The Mayor explained that in no other case of upgrading a playground to a park has a Public Consultation been done, nor do you foresee one. He also stated that the concrete that was removed that was there for the bases that the old toys were supported on was more than what will be put in now.
The Mayor also told us that he was willing and called many times organized citizens who have concerns to discuss but they did not accept and asked for a Public Consultation. We asked the Mayor to hold a meeting specifically on this issue to analyze all the facts and provide clear and informed information to the citizens. The meeting will be structured to be effective and the Mayor promised us that it will take place the week before Christmas where, in addition to a delegation from the Limassol District Committee of the Citizens' Ecological Movement, we will invite other stakeholders who will be constructive. We will seek to videotape the meeting to make it available to the public for their accurate information and transparency.
Some other issues that were mentioned and I think it is important to mention are the following. Some citizens unfortunately do not cooperate and the Municipality will be forced to supervise and give fines.
Also the Mayor told us that every month there will be tree plantings in Limassol in various places and he told us that the funds have been found for this. We have suggested to him to involve us as the Movement of Ecologists and all the voluntary groups that have been begging for years to be given spaces for tree planting. He has promised us that any tree planting will be announced well in advance and all groups and citizens will be invited to get involved.
We will raise the issue of greening the city at one of our future meetings and see if we can get volunteers more involved and perhaps be able to reduce the need for funds for tree planting, which Mr. Stavros, the City's Agronomist, was very receptive.
The Mayor also informed us of a 24-hour City animal team that is responsible for taking in beaten, abused and/or dead animals. Citizens can call this team at 77777788 24 hours a day.
Thanks again to the Mayor and I look forward to a partnership that will improve communication and cooperation with the Citizens Ecology Movement and with the citizens.
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