The district self-governance organisations (EOAs) must be autonomous and self-financed to be effective, said the President of the Nicosia EOA, Constantinos Yorkadjis, on Wednesday.
“If they are not truly independent, the organisations will not be able to serve in the best possible way,” he told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).
Yorkadjis mentioned that he had sent letters to the House speaker and members of the parliament’s Interior Committee, as well as to the interior and finance ministries, highlighting points in the legislation that need to be changed for the district organizations to achieve true financial independence.
Addressing the challenges in the rollout of the EOAs’ operations – such as complaints of delays in building permit applications despite initial optimism – Yorkadjis emphasised the importance of transparency about the current glitches and teething problems to manage public expectations.
“Our goal was to create an organization closer to the public, addressing immediate needs and providing quality services on time, at the lowest possible cost,” Yorkadjis said, reaffirming the mission.
However, he noted that the newly formed EOAs face the challenge of integrating workers from eleven different organisations.
“Our priority was to create suitable and dignified office spaces and to train staff on the Ippodamos software system,” he said, especially for the issuance of permits, in order to streamline the application process for all.
“Unfortunately, the system presents several problems that I hope will be resolved,” he said.
This will happen through collaboration with all stakeholders, including those who designed the system, and the deputy ministry of innovation, he said.
“We need to be honest and inform [people] when the various software issues will be resolved so they can adjust their own requirements and expectations,” he said.
Currently, a “restrained optimism” characterises the public’s perception of the new EOAs, Yorkadjis noted, adding that it is now up to the state to demonstrate its ability to work together to make the local restructuring a success.
