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The first day of operation of the Provincial Self-Government Organizations is running smoothly and even better coordination is expected in the coming days, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said today during his visit to the premises of the Nicosia District Self-Government Organization.
Speaking to media representatives, the Interior Minister, after thanking the President and the Director General of the Nicosia LGO, as well as the staff for their readiness on the first day of the Agency's operation, said that so far everything seems to be running smoothly. He noted that the licensing sector is functioning normally and the first permits have been received through the "IUPODAMOS" system, while the first planning permit has been issued in the new environment.
Mr. Ioannou stressed that there will be some difficulties in the coming days, noting however that this is to be expected, given that the staff from ten planning and 36 building authorities that existed until 30 June 2024 are now grouped under one organisation and in the same space. "So it is understandable that in the first few days there will be some difficulties until they adapt to the new situation. But it seems so far they (the Nicosia EOA) have been staffed in time, they have prepared their offices. I express my congratulations to all those involved," the Minister said.
Commenting on the fact that within a few hours applications have been submitted through the "IUPODAMOS" system and the issuing of planning permission has proceeded, Ioannou explained that "the aim of the reform and the creation of the new Agency was precisely to consolidate, in order to have economies of scale. In addition, we had identified the understaffing problems in good time, since last summer, we proceeded to further staffing. Now they will assess the new data and as financially and administratively autonomous they will proceed with their own recruitment."
The Interior Minister added that, in addition to adequate staffing, "we have successfully proceeded with a reform in Urban Planning itself by adopting 22 measures to simplify the licensing process already in place, with the single manual for both urban planning and building permits being the crowning glory."
The Minister of Interior added that, in addition to adequate staffing, "we have successfully proceeded with a reform in Urban Planning itself by adopting 22 measures to simplify the licensing process already in place, with the single manual for both urban planning and building permits being the crowning glory. So now everyone is operating uniformly. With all this we expect and it is a common goal to see an increase in the number of applications processed." Referring to the pending applications, Ioannou noted that these will continue to be examined with the same priority as before, with the aim of being processed in a much shorter time frame, due to the measures that have already been taken.
For his part, the President of EOA Nicosia Mr. Constantinos Yiorkatzis thanked the Director of EOA and the management team for all the work they have completed in the past period. "Today, on the first day, we are ready to welcome people. And I want to remind you that this is the first day and a big thank you to all the employees because they came here as part of this great change in their lives and in their personal and professional lives, with optimism and contributed to the success of this great project called Local Government Reform," he said.
Continuing, the President of EOA Nicosia called on all employees and citizens to show patience in the first period and perseverance in order to achieve the goal of the Local Government Reform.
The President of EOA Nicosia called on all employees and citizens to show patience in the first period and perseverance in order to achieve the goal of the Local Government Reform. Mr. Yiorkatzis said that the staffing of the Agency will soon be completed, while he referred to the familiarization of the staff with the common Manual and with the "IUPODAMOS" system, so that common procedures can be followed.
Asked, subsequently, if the reform started in the same way in the other Districts, the Minister of Interior said that according to the information, everything started normally in the other Districts as well. He said that in the next few days, the new offices will also open in Paphos, after a short delay that was expected. "Generally things are going well in all the Districts. The message is that we will win the local government reform bet. That is our goal. I repeat there will be some difficulties. We are not triumphing from day one. There will be, as we have seen, and in the YESY, as with all major reforms, there will probably be some difficulties. Here we are, there is a will from everyone to resolve them. We started off on the right foot. A good start has been made. The law is working, the staff has been deployed, but you see the offices are working. So from there on it will take some time to get up to speed," Ioannou said.
(MKY)
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