The name chosen for one of the new village clusters in the Larnaca district is too long, interior ministry permanent secretary Elikkos Elia said on Thursday.

Evaluating progress regarding the implementation of Cyprus’ local government reform this year, he said some of the 30 village clusters created by the reforms are still struggling with finding a new name.

One such cluster is the ‘Ayia Anna – Kalo Chorio – Mosfiloti – Pyrga – Psevdas’, where local officials decided to include the name of every single village included. Elia said he will request that the cluster’s name be changed as he believes “a shorter name can be found”.

Elsewhere, he said, one cluster in the Nicosia district and two clusters in the Paphos district have yet to agree on their name going forward, and as such, the ministry will now “continue its efforts to help them arrive on a name”.

The village clusters were created out of villages which were not included in Cyprus’ new municipalities, and most have now settled on names, often based in a given area’s history or unique characteristics.

Cluster names include Tamassos and Amathus, named after royal cities in ancient Cyprus, Marathasa, named after the valley, the Wine Villages, a cluster with many vineyards in it, Ezousa, named after the river, and Aphrodite, named after the ancient Greek goddess.

New administrative map of Cyprus

Naming aside, Elia said his ministry is now preparing the official new administrative map of Cyprus, which, when finished, will be given to the municipalities’ union and the communities’ union for any comments.

To this end, he said there are some “obvious weaknesses” with regard to the state of the map, pointing out that “for example, there is the existence of municipalities with a small area and population, and also the creation of municipal boroughs which are made up of rural communities with minimal populations.”

On the other hand, he pointed to the success of “administratively dividing the Akamas national park into two different municipalities”.

Once the map has been agreed upon by all involved, it will be submitted to the education ministry, with Elia saying the aim is for “children to recognise it”.

Elia’s statements come after Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou was forced onto the defensive regarding his role in the process of local government reform, with Akel saying the government had “not shown the necessary fervour” in its efforts to ensure a smooth transition to the new system of local government.

Ioannou insisted he was not “indifferent” to the challenges of local government reform, and said the government has “since the first day it took office, has prioritised the smooth implementation of this large reform.”