Following the announcement by the Minister of the Interior (2/12) of the plan for the municipal mergers, we wish to note the following:

1. The relevant proposal of the Ministry of the Interior, as it concerns the Municipality of Geroskipou, is categorically rejected by the Municipal Council and the local community. There is an alternative option that, in our view, is better and more beneficial for the area, namely the merger of the Municipality of Geroskipou with neighbouring communities.

2. The proposed plan was drawn up without any prior consultation with the municipalities and communities concerned and without the necessary consent. The State’s failure to consult local government organisations on matters that directly concern them, such as mergers, constitutes a breach of the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Article 4.6), which the Republic of Cyprus has co-signed and ratified. It should be noted that, to date, the Municipality has sent five letters to the Minister of the Interior, none of which has been answered, in breach of a constitutional provision and of the relevant law requiring the administration to respond within a 30-day deadline.

3. In the Ministry of the Interior’s plan for the mergers, expediency (both political and financial) and the “special requests” of larger municipalities prevailed. The result was the creation of distortions, since robust and viable municipalities were downgraded to “districts”, underperforming municipalities were upgraded, and villages were turned into municipalities! Municipalities were dissolved and new ones created at will, without taking into account the will of the citizens themselves.

4. Some of the merger proposals that were announced were not even examined through the Ministry of the Interior’s relevant study and, consequently, their proposed establishment was not substantiated! By contrast, written and reasoned proposals, such as that of the Municipality of Geroskipou, which was also included among the study’s scenarios, were not taken into account.

5. In all towns, municipalities are being created to the west and east of the towns, with the prospect of further communities being merged in the future. For Paphos, on the contrary, a Municipality of Western Paphos is being created, but not one for Eastern Paphos!

6. Although the Municipality of Geroskipou submitted its final proposal for the mergers on 21 October 2019, correcting erroneous figures in the study that concerned Geroskipou, the Minister of the Interior, in his effort to justify the proposal to merge the Municipalities of Paphos and Geroskipou together with a number of communities, insisted on recycling the same errors, stating that the area of the Municipality of Geroskipou is “under 8 sq. km.” (whereas it is almost 15 sq. km.) and that its population is “barely 5.6% of the residents of Paphos” (whereas it is 9% and, after the Municipality of Paphos, constitutes the largest unit by population)!

7. To justify his proposal on the fate of the Municipality of Geroskipou, the Minister of the Interior stated that “the Town Hall of Geroskipou is only 3.7 km from the Town Hall of Paphos.” Let the Minister tell us what the distance in kilometres will be from the Town Hall of Paphos to the seat of the “Municipality of Western Paphos”, which will be located in Chlorakas, likewise neighbouring the Municipality of Paphos.

8. The Minister of the Interior claims that the merger of the Municipality of Paphos, the Municipality of Geroskipou and a number of communities would produce annual savings of 1.25 million euros. Where did he get this figure, given that his study did not examine such a scenario? On the contrary, regarding the merger of the Municipality of Geroskipou with communities, the Ministry’s own study states that it improves the area’s economies of scale and that the annual savings would be of the order of 1.2 million euros! In other words, the amount of savings is at the same level as that which the Minister claims arises from his own merger proposal!

9. The Minister of the Interior states that, apart from the Municipality of Paphos, the other municipalities in the district have low administrative capacity (which is linked mainly to the number of staff they employ). However, the Ministry’s own study demonstrated that the Municipality of Geroskipou, with regard to the staffing adequacy index which, according to the study, constitutes an important criterion for determining a municipality’s viability, stands at the average level for both clerical staff and workers. It should be noted that for almost ten years there has been a moratorium on hiring, which apparently did not apply to the Municipality of Paphos (e.g. the recruitment of 18 employees during 2020)!

Our question remains unanswered by those responsible for the reform: If the merger of the Municipality of Geroskipou with neighbouring communities meets and safeguards the main objectives set by the study, why should this alternative scenario not be chosen, and why must the Municipality necessarily be absorbed by the Municipality of Paphos? Why should a merger not be chosen that guarantees the most democratic representation of the local authorities being merged within the new administrative structure and its decision-making bodies?

Finally, the Municipality of Geroskipou calls on the Ministry of the Interior, and in particular the new Minister, to reconsider our proposal for the creation of a strong and viable municipality in eastern Paphos.

A study by Ernst & Young, prepared in November on behalf of the Municipality of Geroskipou regarding local government reform, demonstrates that the best and most beneficial option for Geroskipou, as well as the surrounding area, is the merger of the municipality with adjoining communities.

• The study, having taken into account the Ministry of the Interior’s plan to strengthen the administrative and financial autonomy of municipalities, the transfer of new responsibilities together with the corresponding financial resources, the securing of the staffing needed by municipal departments to carry out existing and new responsibilities, and the merger of municipalities as well as communities in a way that safeguards the preservation of their identity, concluded, as far as Geroskipou is concerned, that failure to effectively address the operational and administrative challenges that may arise could create risks leading to negative outcomes, including, among others:
• The absence of a methodology for setting priorities among the needs of the merged Municipality, or the adoption of a methodology that fails to take into account Geroskipou’s development prospects, which is very likely to lead to negative outcomes both for the tourism product and for tourism revenue.
• The diminished and unrepresentative representation of Geroskipou on the council and in the administration of the new municipality more generally, relative to its contribution to the overall budget of the merged Municipality and to its active population.

Taking the above into account, the study assessed four (4) merger scenarios[1] that were proposed with a view to achieving the objectives of the reform and ensuring the effective handling of the operational and administrative challenges. Specifically, the merger scenarios examined were:

1. Scenario A: Municipality of Geroskipou and Municipality of Paphos.
2. Scenario B: Municipality of Geroskipou, Community of Konia, Community of Agia Marinouda, Community of Acheleia, Community of Timi.
3. Scenario C: Municipality of Geroskipou, Municipality of Paphos, Municipality of Peyia, Community of Acheleia, Community of Timi, Community of Agia Marinouda, Community of Chloraka, Community of Emba, Community of Lempa and Community of Kissonerga.
4. Scenario D: Municipality of Geroskipou, Community of Konia, Community of Agia Marinouda, Community of Acheleia, Community of Timi.

As became evident from the results of the assessment of the four (4) merger scenarios, Scenarios B and D present the greatest likelihood of achieving the objectives of local government reform and the development prospects of the merged Municipality, since the operational and administrative challenges identified can be addressed to a greater extent. It should be noted that Scenarios B (proposed by Dr Koutalakis’s study) and D (proposed by the Municipality of Geroskipou) are similar, the only difference being the inclusion in Scenario D of the Community of Konia, which is a community adjoining the Municipality of Geroskipou and is expected to benefit from a possible merger with the Municipality.

The Municipality of Geroskipou, having assessed the EY study, has already put forward a proposal to merge Geroskipou with the Communities of Konia, Agia Marinouda, Acheleia and Timi. This proposal took the following into account:

• The achievement of the objectives of the reform, as defined by the State.
• The effective handling of the operational and administrative challenges, as analysed in the EY study.
• The development prospects of the entities to be merged.
• The more democratic representation of the local authorities to be merged within the new administrative structure and in the decision-making bodies.

It is further emphasised that, owing to the expertise the Municipality of Geroskipou possesses in providing services to a (relatively) large population, it will contribute to upgrading the services provided to the residents of the other entities to be merged. The merger of the communities of eastern Paphos with their neighbouring municipality will help them secure population regeneration and socio-political equality, develop in a balanced manner and make progress. Moreover, the Municipality of Geroskipou has the expertise to prepare proposals for complex infrastructure projects that will be eligible for funding from European funds during the next programming period (2021-27), which will give impetus to the development of the area.

[1] Regarding the merger of the Municipality of Geroskipou with other entities, three (3) scenarios were proposed in the “Policy Document on the Revision of the promoted reform of Local Government in the Republic of Cyprus” prepared by Dr Charalambos Koutalakis on the instructions of the Ministry of the Interior, as well as one (1) alternative scenario proposed by the Municipality of Geroskipou.

The Municipal Council of Geroskipou opposes the installation of new 5G masts within the municipal boundaries of Geroskipou, since, based on the data and all the information available to it so far, it is estimated that the new generation of mobile telephony networks will emit radiation at a much higher power than the existing base stations, with possible long-term effects on the health of residents.

Accordingly, and in its effort to protect residents from exposure to high-frequency electromagnetic fields, at its meeting of 26/11/2019 the Municipal Council decided to prohibit the installation of the new mobile telephony masts within the municipal boundaries of Geroskipou.

The Municipality of Geroskipou invites the following tenders for the period up to 31^st December 2020.

64/2019 SUPPLY OF READY-MIXED CONCRETE

65/2019 WORKS WITH A TELESCOPIC LIFT

66/2019 WORKS WITH A LORRY

(with a capacity of at least 18 M3)

67/2019 WORKS WITH A SKID LOADER (POP CAT) WITH A HYDRAULIC

HAMMER (BREAKER)

68/2019 WORKS WITH A PICK-UP TRUCK

69/2019 WORKS WITH A DIGGER-TYPE EXCAVATOR WITH A

HYDRAULIC HAMMER (BREAKER) )

70/2019 REMOVAL OF WASTE/RUBBLE WITH A

LORRY (with a capacity of at least 18 M3)

INCLUDING LOADING

71/2019 WORKS WITH A DIGGER FOR EMERGENCY INCIDENTS

72/2019 SUPPLY OF CRUSHER – RUN

73/2019 HORIZONTAL ROAD MARKING

74/2019 SUPPLY OF ASPHALT

75/2019 ROAD SIGNS

Tenders must be completed on the special tender forms available from the Technical Services Department of the Municipality. The cost of participation in the tender is €5 per tender, including VAT.

Tenders must be submitted no later than 13.12.2019 at 12:00 noon.

The criterion on the basis of which the Municipality will award the tender is exclusively the lowest price.

For further information, interested parties may contact the Technical Services of the Municipality of Geroskipou (contact person Kyriakos Nearchou) on telephone numbers 26961803 ,26961400, Monday – Friday from 08.00 – 14.30.

AWARD OF SCHOLARSHIPS BY THE MUNICIPALITY OF GEROSKIPOU

As part of its social contribution and with the principal aim of providing tangible support to young people, the Municipality of Geroskipou announces a number of scholarships – grants for the 2019-2020 academic year.

Main selection criteria for scholarship recipients:

• Resident of Geroskipou
• Cypriot citizenship
• Exemplary conduct
• Clean criminal record
• Secondary school leaving certificate grade of 18.5/20 or above.
• Completion of military obligations before submission of the application, or exemption or deferment.
• Securing a place at the Universities of Cyprus, at higher education institutions in Greece or in another country for the 1^st year of studies.
• Maximum family income of €30,000 (father – mother).
• In the case of a large family (4 or more dependent children), the income limit is increased by €2,000 for each child. In the case of single-parent families and orphaned children, the maximum family income limit is €32,000.
• Attendance must be regular, continuous and not distance learning.

Applications may be submitted until 3^rd December 2019 at 1.30 p.m.

For any information and application forms, you may contact the Records Office (tel. 26 962 324) or the Cultural Service of the Municipality of Geroskipou (tel. 26 960 857). For the application forms, please follow the links below:

Award of Scholarships, Municipality of Geroskipou 2019 – 2020

Declaration of Financial Status for Scholarship Application

Monday, 18 November 2019

The Municipality of Geroskipou has been honoured for the second consecutive year for its active participation in the pioneering “ZERO WASTE BEACH” programme, run by the AKTI Project and Research Centre and Coca-Cola in Cyprus as part of the vision for a world without waste.

The programme aims to reduce the waste that ends up in coastal and marine areas, to encourage the adoption of innovative and sustainable practices by seaside businesses, Local Authorities, and the general public, to establish annual campaigns to clean up beaches and seabeds, to collect recyclable waste, and to raise public awareness of plastic marine pollution.

The Municipality of Geroskipou, mindful of environmental matters and the protection of public health, will continue its wide-ranging efforts and take part in every programme aimed at protecting the Environment and promoting public health.