The Government has decided that the unacceptable situation with the local authorities finances “can not go on like this any longer,” President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades has said.
Speaking at the inauguration of a square in Tseri, a south suburb of Nicosia, President Anastasiades said that the squeeze and the debt accumulated by municipal authorities are an incubus on local authorities.
“This is a problem which is passed on to the government which in fact keeps municipalities and communities alive either by direct funding or guarantees” he said.
The President said that the restructuring of local government has entered a final stage, adding that now is the time for a final productive dialogue to take place between all stakeholders on the relevant government bill in order to reach the best possible solution that would ensure administrative and economic autonomy for the local authorities.
He called on everyone to think about the improved role local government should have after reform and accept a bitter reality that the existing local government model needs to change.