I am handing over to you the most multi-thematic, and possibly the most demanding Ministry of the Government, in which energy and creativity "overflow", said today the outgoing Minister of Interior Mr.Nikos Nouris. Speaking at the handover of the Ministry, the new Minister of Interior, Mr. Constantinos Ioannou, said that he is taking over the baton with the promise that he will do everything humanly possible to meet the expectations of society.
Today, the handover and acceptance ceremony of the portfolio of the Ministry of Interior took place at the Ministry of Interior, in the presence of Directors of Departments and Heads of Services of the Ministry, as well as staff of the Administration.
The Director General of the Ministry of Interior Mr. Costas Constantinou, addressing the outgoing Minister of Interior Mr. Nouris, thanked him for the services he has provided to the Ministry and, by extension, to the country, noting that many things have been done during his term of office, most of which, as he said, bear his personal seal.
Constantine, at the same time, welcomed the new political head of the Ministry, Mr. Ioannou, assuring him that both he personally and the Directors and Heads of Departments and Services of the Ministry, as well as all staff, will be at his disposal to support the policies that will be defined or adapted, on the basis of his guidance "to move forward soon and steadily", as he noted, "for the benefit of the citizen and society".
In handing over the Ministry, the outgoing Minister of Interior, Mr. Nouris, welcomed the new Minister to what he described as the most multi-faceted and potentially the most demanding Ministry in Government. He added:
"The work, but more importantly the human resources of this Ministry, deserve my thanks, my attention in this my last intervention as Minister of Interior.
When I took over three and a half years ago, I stated that we had important challenges ahead of us.
There was the reform of the Local Government (LA).), planning permission, our housing policy, the rationalisation of the management of Turkish Cypriot (TC) properties - bets that had to be won - and of course the now national issue of migration and its management.
Today, as I hand over the administration of the Ministry, I feel really proud of myself and my colleagues, but also extremely satisfied. Because thanks to the teamwork that was done in the Ministry - because such a project cannot be done if you work in a fragmented way - it was possible, together with the Administration and the staff of the Ministry, to accomplish and complete to a very large extent, or at least to roll out these huge capital issues, which I have mentioned above.
- The (TA) reform has already been passed and is in the process of being implemented.
- The reform of the (TA) has already been passed and is in the process of being implemented.
- In fast-track planning licensing, we have almost completed the ability that is now given to every citizen to acquire their home and have their permit issued in just 20 days. We have issued more than 6,000 such applications, removing the shadows of bureaucracy, but much more so of corruption.
- With our housing projects we enabled 952 families to benefit from a €34 million state grant.
- The legislation on the rationalisation of the T/C properties - a very big gamble that has plagued democracy for decades - has not only been completed, but has also been subjected to legislative scrutiny and will be submitted by you to the House of Representatives within the next month.
- And of course, on what I called the "national issue," immigration, may still remain intractable, but huge strides have been made in terms of where we are and where we are today.
It remains, of course, particularly on migration, a serious issue.
Our "Achilles' heel", which is the Green Line, for which we may have achieved recognition, in the most categorical and official way, by Europe, that it needs Europe's attention, like the external borders of all European countries, but without being counted as such.
But we have managed in these three years to move forward with a series of reform interventions on migration, such as the modernisation of legislation, the ending of fictitious students and fictitious marriages. We set up a border guard unit and proceeded to install - still piecemeal, but I hope it will be implemented in the future - physical barriers, and e-governance on the Green Line. We built the Lakes accommodation centre, we secured €80 million of funding for our pre-removal centre, which will particularly help returns, we concluded a huge number of agreements, not only with the EU itself, but also with third countries - which nobody thought we could do. We have quintupled the number of applications that we deal with per year, from an average of 3 000 to over 16 000. We have increased the number of judges at the Court of International Protection and we are holistically streamlining the "Refugee Law."
We are now entitled, Mr. Minister, to feel optimistic, because together with the huge number of returns we have accomplished, almost 9,000 in the last 13 months, making Cyprus first among European countries in terms of returns, that we can, yes, look forward to better days.
And I want to say here that I unreservedly support the recommendation of the new President of the Republic on the necessity of establishing and creating a Deputy Ministry of Immigration, because, among other things, it was my recommendation, which is already part of the decision of the outgoing Government since November 2021, when the Ministry of Interior submitted a very structured recommendation to the Government.
I want to hope that through the Deputy Ministry of Immigration there really will be more focus on this issue.
But the Ministry of Interior remains, my friend Minister, by far the most developmental ministry of the state and I am not just saying that, but the numbers say it.
From 2018 until this year we spent on projects in excess of €561 million, including projects in municipalities and communities, and we have budgeted - and I believe that this is the right programming for you, for the new Government, so that you can continue on these development tracks - €632 million for the period 2023-2025, with very specific and targeted projects that will enable us to continue on this path.
I would like to focus on one part of the development, which concerns the Cypriot countryside, our sensitivity, if you like. Recognizing that the Cypriot countryside is rife with problems, and of course the first one is that of urbanization, we have taken a very large holistic approach to the Cypriot countryside, whether it is our housing projects, whether it is our subsidy policies, whether it is other development policies and infrastructure projects. The result is that today we are entitled to say that our marginal disadvantaged areas, our areas designated as 'extremely disadvantaged', our mountainous areas have the attention of the central state. And I am already delighted that both of our two friends, the President of the Union of Communities and the President of the occupied communities are here today, precisely in recognition that the Home Office is there for them and that they can look forward to it. I am sure that your position on this very issue will be similar.
We are also a Ministry that adds to the economy. We have managed to move forward with an investment attraction plan, so that in 2022 alone, we will register 9,900 new companies and the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Interior will enable 22,000 persons, investors and their family members, to settle in our country.
Dear Minister,
I am handing over to you a Ministry in which energy and creativity are overflowing.
On the creative side, the Department of Town and Country Planning has a special role to play. It is a pioneering department, which designs and implements outstanding innovative interventions. Most characteristic of all is the vision for the holistic revitalization of the centre of the capital, starting with the building facilities here, and certainly proceeding with the grand project in the walled city of Nicosia.
The Land Registry has made huge strides in recent years, not only in the direction of serving citizens, but also contributing to the state's coffers. By reducing the number of unissued property titles from 54,000 when I took over, to 9,000 today, it has also contributed greatly to the economy of the country.
The provincial administrations are the executive arm of the Ministry, implementing a number of decisions and projects.
Civil Defence is being modernised and will enable Cypriot citizens - hopefully soon - to have timely information on their mobile phones in case of natural disasters, fires and earthquakes.
For all this, Minister, allow me to address a big thank you to the Director General, to all the Heads of Departments, but also to each and every one of the Ministry's officials for the enormous work they have done. And because numbers are a tangible example, let me say that through their work, and under our guidance, they were able in 2022 to implement 84% of our budget, a figure that puts us high at the top among all Ministries.
Dear Colleagues,
From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all together and each and every one of you individually. Thank you to all the Department Heads. Let me give special thanks to my immediate office staff. I wish you all good health, family happiness and all the best in your next day.
I ask you to embrace your friend the new Minister as you embraced me and welcomed me. I am grateful for your cooperation and above all for your friendship."
"My friend Nikos and I served together in the same government and so I know first hand how good a job, the excellent work he has done in all areas concerning the Ministry of Interior.
The Ministry of Interior has been described as a super-ministry and not by chance.
The Ministry of Interior has been described as a super-ministry and not by chance. It deals, as Nick mentioned, with a wide range of responsibilities and therefore has many open fronts, from the reform of the TA, to immigration, to civil defence, to housing policy and many other issues.
My aim, after being briefed by the civil servants, is to arrange meetings with all partners to promote solutions to any problems that may exist. I will also seek to have cooperation with all political parties, the Parliament and all social partners.
I am confident that we will have very good results and implement the governance programme of President Nicos Christodoulides. Our aim in implementing the governance programme is to build on the excellent work that has already been done and the very positive results that have been achieved, and I want to emphasise this.
I will not say much more. I want to end by saying that I take over the baton of the Ministry of Interior with a promise that I will do everything humanly possible to meet the expectations of society. Thank you very much."
EFYs
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