POLITICS OMADA NEWS #Ministry of the Interior #Local Self-Government #Local Self-Government Reform #Konstantinos Ioannou #ΑΚΕΛ
The Minister of the Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou, launched a counterattack regarding the positions of the general secretary of AKEL, Stefanos Stefanos, on the reform of Local Government, stressing that it is unfair to seek responsibility in the Ministry of the Interior for the omissions of others, especially when the legislation does not provided tools to the state so that it could intervene and apply any remedy to the gaps that was observed.
In a related statement, the Minister of the Interior stated that "I have been following with surprise in recent weeks the public statements of the Secretary General of AKEL, in which he refers to the Ministry of the Interior's unpreparedness to implement the reform of Local Self-Government and to the insufficient support of the Local Authorities".
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Without any intention of confrontation, Konstantinos Ioannou continued, he wanted to emphasize that "the Christodoulidis Government, from the first day of taking office, prioritized the smooth implementation of the grandiose reform of Local Self-Government. We had warned in time with our public statements and before the competent Parliamentary Committee about our concerns about the weaknesses and distortions we identified in the legislation and we then attempted to modify and improve the legislative framework, but without finding the expected response from political parties".
The Minister of the Interior pointed out, at the same time, that "we expressed our concerns about the fact that the mergers of the Municipalities were not made on the basis of economic and population data, nor did they take into account the studies done for this purpose, with the result that the viability of some Municipalities, given that the critical mass does not exist and economies of scale are not created which were the goal of the reform. We expressed our opposition to the large number of Deputy Mayors, without a clear mandate, as well as to the amount of their remuneration. We immediately proceeded to change the method of determining the remuneration of the Deputy Mayors, so that it is given on a staggered basis and taking into account the population data".
In his deposition, Mr. Ioannou indicated that "I have repeatedly emphasized that the €117 million that was included in the legislation was an amount that in no way represents the total cost that will be required for the reform, hence we had to secure additional amounts , for financing the operation of the Complexes, etc. We have expressed our concern about the sustainability of EOAs with the implementation of the provision of the legislation for the return of 60% of the fees to the Municipalities. I remind you that the intervention of the State was necessary to secure this amount for the Municipalities in addition to the €117 million, in order to ensure the financial and administrative autonomy of the EOAs, without at the same time creating a loss for the Municipalities".
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Responding to the reports of insufficient preparation, with the attribution of responsibility for this to the Ministry of the Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou pointed out that "I want to emphasize that the legislation had assigned this responsibility to the Temporary Coordinating Councils, which consisted of the Mayors and representatives of the EKK of each Province and in which the Ministry participated with a single representative, who essentially had an observer role. It is an admitted fact - and I refer to my relevant references - that the five PSCs, although they started with the same data and a common starting point, did not work at the same pace, while in some cases more and better preparation was done compared to others. I remind you that, according to the legislation, the Ministry of the Interior did not have the authority to intervene and directly resolve the issues of the PES, and its role was purely ancillary."
The Minister of the Interior, continuing, noted that "it is, to say the least, unfair to seek responsibility in the Ministry of the Interior for the omissions of others, at a time when the legislation that was passed did not provide the tools to the State to be able to intervene and apply any remedy to the gaps which was observed. However, the Ministry of the Interior, supporting the PES, proceeded to prepare, among other things, Budget templates, Service Plans and duties for EOA staff, but also to implement a series of measures aimed at simplifying the development licensing process, by preparing manuals and modernizing of other processes, uptake of EOX, coc'.
Therefore, the Ministry of Interior, added Mr. Ioannou, "not only has he not been indifferent and renounces the responsibilities assigned to him, but he has done more than what the law provides, exercising the supervisory and auxiliary role assigned to him. We have identified the weaknesses of the legal framework that was passed and in cooperation with the legislative authority we are in the process of solving the problems. It is also for this reason that throughout this time we have tabled bills with lots of changes, in order to make the implementation of existing legislation more functional, which have been passed despite the tight timetables in close cooperation with the President and the members of the Parliamentary Committee on the Interior, whom we thank."
Concluding, Konstantinos Ioannou pointed out that "responsibility cannot therefore be placed on the executive power through reports of indifference and non-support of the Local Authorities, since from the result and from the data, our constant concern to support the protagonists of the Local Self-Government is evident. so that the reform will be crowned with success and fulfill its purpose."
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