Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou on Monday began the fourth round of regional meetings with community council presidents from the Limassol district.

The meetings aimed to review ongoing projects and address issues identified in previous visits.

Ioannou first met with the Moniatis and Apesia community councils. When asked about new problems arising from the local government reform, he confirmed that the challenges remain largely unchanged. These issues include lack of space, delays in processes, and the need for rural road registration, though each community faces its own unique concerns.

He emphasised the importance of these biannual meetings in tracking progress and applying pressure on authorities to act. A follow-up cycle of meetings is planned for the end of the year.

Regarding the staffing of the new local government clusters, Ioannou reiterated that the reform would benefit communities, with 286 communities now forming 30 clusters. These clusters will employ administrative staff, health professionals, and accountants. So far, the organisational structures for 26 clusters have been approved, with the remaining four pending.

However, the recruitment process is delayed due to the need for approval from the House of Representatives, which has not yet passed the necessary amendments. Ioannou expressed hopes that the process will move forward by September.

On the Cyprus Municipalities Union’s announcement of a payment freeze, Ioannou stated that the decision had been rescinded and questioned its validity, noting that budgets were submitted in February and that five municipalities had failed to submit theirs. He clarified that no delays could be attributed to the interior or finance ministries in those cases, with ten municipal budgets already approved.