We were writing about it when they were discussing it, before they made decisions and get us into a real mess. But who would listen? Above all, as always, it was the party dealings that prevailed. “Let one be accommodated, let another be accommodated, let one party be satisfied, let another count its benefits, they did wonders.” That’s what we were saying on April 5, 2022. Common sense dictated as much.
Now, even the Minister of the Interior, Constantinos Ioannou, is saying it, attributing the distortions in the local government reform to the give-and-take among the parties. And that decisions were not made based on the techno-economic data, as they emerged from various studies by experts, but on other criteria. This, he says, creates unsustainable municipalities with the cost falling on the citizens.
However, it’s somewhat late now. The notorious reform is a reality and will be implemented in a few months. And let the earth mix with fire.
The reform was made to cut costs, and in the end, we will be worse off. Until 2011, there were 24 municipalities. Then, without much discussion, they suddenly became 30. The Christofias government decided this, and the rest approved it without any objection. They agreed in haste. Because they were all going to share the benefits. Villages and hamlets were named municipalities, acquired mansions, lords, party factors, and happiness flowed from our feet. Of course, the mansions cost millions to build and millions to fill with employees. And the citizens were charged to help the municipalities cope and for the local lords to thrive.
Their happiness lasted for two years. In 2013, when the Troika came, they were told: Where are you going, stepping barefoot on thorns? Then they discovered that everyone was in debt. But, they had mansions!
So, they started studies to see what could be done. They brought in British experts, Italian ones, Greek ones, we paid a fortune for them to conduct studies. No study supported that the municipalities could be more than 14. The Briton even stated that there should be five municipalities in free Cyprus. FIVE.
But what would the experts know? The Government made 17 new municipalities to achieve the historic reform. The Parliament made them 20. They boasted smartly that from 30 they would make them 20, hence a huge reform. But 30 was a mistake, and it turned out to be a huge mistake. Essentially, from 24 they would become 20. And they studied this for eleven whole years.
They created municipalities out of the blue by merging villages that were fine as villages. And they left weak municipalities when they could have made them thrive. For example, Paphos. They left the municipality as it was and made other municipalities (Geroskipou, Peyia) stronger by incorporating various villages into them. Why? To satisfy party and other local factors. Paphos should have been one municipality. The same with Larnaca. They didn’t merge Larnaca with Aradippou, Athienou, Dromolaxia, etc., and made five municipalities. Five in Larnaca alone when the study said five municipalities nationwide. The same with Limassol. Four municipalities when there should have been one. Five in Nicosia as well when there should also have been just one.
So, now we will have 20 mayors, 93 deputy mayors, and 442 municipal councillors. How else? When the Polemi municipality will have 14 deputy mayors, the Lefkara municipality 7 deputy mayors, the West Limassol municipality 9 deputy mayors, count the rest… And with salaries ranging from €717 to €2,987 per month. The annual cost is €2.3 million. Just for the deputy mayors.
Because the experts’ studies took the citizens’ interest into account. The party machinations and local factionalism had other things in mind. And ultimately, since we no longer have the Troika over our heads, we forgot why we wanted the reform. Let the citizens pay for each one’s whims.
