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I welcome you to today's press conference, which takes place on a day that can be described as historic for the internal governance of our country. After decades of discussions, the ambitious reform of Local Government, which will reshape the administrative map of Cyprus and aspires to improve the daily life of its citizens, is officially implemented today.
Cyprus is now entering a new era with the merger of Municipalities and Communities, the creation of Service Delivery Clusters in Communities and, most importantly, the operation of the Provincial Self-Government Organisations. We are now moving from theory to practice, leading the Cypriot society to a new form of self-government, clearly improved compared to the existing one, which is expected to have multiple benefits in the medium term on the quality of life of our fellow citizens.
At the level of Municipalities, 63 Communities and 30 Municipalities are merging and creating 20 new Local Government Authorities, aiming in the long run to achieve their administrative and financial autonomy, as well as economies of scale through savings. In addition, the main objective remains to modernise the way municipalities operate in order to meet the modern and ever-changing needs of citizens.
At the Community level, the reform of local government is expected to be beneficial. Through the operation of 30 Service Delivery Clusters and their staffing with qualified personnel, the way they operate is being streamlined, their organisational structure is being modernised and the more efficient service to citizens is being ensured, with procedures of transparency and good administration.
Finally, at the Provincial level, the establishment of the Provincial Self-Government Organisations and the transfer to them of the responsibility for development licensing are the biggest bets for the Ministry of Interior. Until yesterday, ten planning and 36 building authorities were operating in three different Organizations, the Department of Planning and Zoning, the Municipalities and the Provincial Administrations, and in several cases with documented staffing problems. This, combined with the different procedures followed by each authority, resulted in significant problems and, consequently, long delays in issuing permits.
As of today, a total of 326 people previously employed in the licensing areas of the Provincial Offices of the Department of Planning and Zoning, Municipalities and Provincial Administrations, as well as the approximately 70 Temporary Employees, who were recruited and trained to reinforce the existing staff, are grouped together and serve citizens in the new Organizations. We believe that combining the increased staff from the three different agencies and bringing the planning and building permit processes under one Agency will have improved results in the medium term after the first transition period, as the staff will work collectively, streamlining the application review process.
In addition, to upgrade procedures and make the licensing system more flexible and efficient, we have proceeded since last October to implement a package of 22 measures aimed at simplifying and speeding up the examination and licensing procedures. I would like to assure citizens who have already submitted applications under the previous regime that these have been transferred and will be handled by the relevant officials. At the same time, today also marks the digital transition of the submission and examination of all planning and building permits. The "IUPODAMOS" system was re-launched today, fully operational, and through it, planning and building applications for all types of developments will be submitted, regardless of the Authority examining them.
We want to be honest and therefore expect that there will be difficulties in the first few months of the implementation of the reform, until citizens, the State, the municipalities and the EAOs become familiar with the new procedures and staff assimilate the updated procedures and learn to work as a single team in the new working environment. However, all stakeholders are fully committed to responding promptly to overcome any difficulties without affecting the smooth functioning of the new scheme.
From then on, and it is something that both the President and I have stated on several occasions, the proposed reform is clearly better than the system we have had so far, but it is not the ideal one. As a Government, we have identified some weaknesses that we believe need to be reassessed and I know that a corresponding assessment has been made by the parliamentary parties.
For this reason, always in cooperation with the parliamentary parties, it is my intention to start from September a cycle of consultations in order to put on the table the points that need to be revised and to find together those solutions that will substantially improve the new framework of local government and will regulate in legislation some gaps that have been identified.
I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that the President of the Republic is planning a tour of all the Provinces, as part of his ongoing effort to establish contact with local authorities and citizens. For us, there are no small and large communities, there are no two categories of citizens and areas of different speeds. We work for the development, prosperity and well-being of all Cypriots. As part of this tour, we will assess every need that arises, in order to make the necessary interventions where and when needed, so that the new self-government model is functional, efficient and effective.
I am glad that our friend Aristos, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Interior, as well as representatives of parliamentary parties are here with us. I must also publicly express the sincere thanks of the State for the sincere cooperation we have enjoyed, and for all the legislative work they have carried out in the past period, thus contributing to the start of the reform with as few outstanding issues as possible. I want to assure you that the Government at this stage remains committed to the successful implementation of the legislation as passed by the House of Representatives and that any amendment will be the result of our joint discussions and the now tangible data that will emerge from the practical implementation of the reform.
Ladies and gentlemen,
A reform of this magnitude, which affects the whole of society, cannot but be dynamic and progressive in nature. In order to achieve the desired development, all those involved in this project must listen to the needs of the citizens and ensure that local authorities have all the tools at their disposal that will enable them to be constantly upgraded and to be close to the citizens, who are the ultimate beneficiaries of this radical change.
We will continue to do so with the sole aim of strengthening the framework to make it as beneficial as possible for our fellow citizens.
(MKE)
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