Local government reforms ‘on home straight’, minister says

Local government reforms are “on the home straight”, according to interior minister Constantinos Ioannou.

In a speech read on his behalf by the Kyrenia district officer, Antonis Economides, to a meeting of the municipal secretaries’ association in Lefkara on Friday, he said that with local elections now just nine months away, the implementation of reforms is almost complete.

“All the actions concerning either financial or organisational issues, personnel issues, building facilities, new regulations, amending laws for more orderly operations, and other issues, have now been corrected, both at the local and national level”, he said.

He added that the end of March next year had been set as a deadline for the completion of the reforms he wished to implement, and that for this reason “there is room to deal with any issues which may arise later.”

“We are sure that all the organisations involved will continue to make every possible effort for the successful implementation of this policy”, he said.

Speaking of the process carried out regarding reforms, he said “there were certainly difficulties and challenges, that is to be expected in a reform of such magnitude, but when there is cooperation and a positive approach, these can be resolved.”

Also speaking at the event was social welfare deputy minister Marilena Evangelou, who said her deputy ministry has been “in coordination and close cooperation with local government … with the aim of protecting, developing, and continuously improving people’s quality of life.”

She made reference to the “neighbourhood social worker” initiative, which is currently in its pilot phase and is being implemented in the four municipalities where the most people served by Social welfare services live.

She said the programme will be evaluated in October and will likely be extended to a number of municipalities “with the aim of geographical coverage of all areas.”

“The purpose of the programme … is the cooperation between the social welfare deputy ministry and local authorities to promote human-centred programmes, early detection [of issues], addressing issues of vulnerability, and addressing exclusions [from society] which people may face”, she said.

She added that “the inclusion of local authorities [in governmental policy] acts as a catalyst in our effort to strengthen local societies and ensure people with real care needs have access to the services they require.”

Municipal secretaries’ association chairman Matheos Alambritis said “local government is changing, and we will have to change together. The new laws … have created new challenges that require good practice, while the social role of municipalities will also be upgraded.”

“The transition towards the reform is nearing completion and the municipalities are being called on to adapt, as our main and primary goal is, among other things, to strengthen the social image of municipalities.”