Local government reform bill headed for plenum on July 6

The bill for local government reform is set to head to plenum on July 6, the House interior committee said on Thursday.

Deputies concluded talks over the bill, with all parties mutually agreeing that any amendments must be very limited in scope and there will be no more questions as for the philosophy of the reform, Akel MP Aristos Damianou said.

The bill will head to plenum on July 6, with Damianou specifying that issues such as school boards, and wages of deputy mayors will be wrapped up as discussions will ensue in the next few days.

An informal meeting was set to take place on Thursday afternoon over school boards but the likely conclusion is that elections for them will take place as planned, and the transition to local authority reform will take place in 2029.

Where the wages of the deputy mayor are concerned, Damianou specified that a rationale was needed to be found. Nonetheless he expressed optimism a solution could be reached.