Municipalities across Cyprus warned on Monday that residents could face higher local taxes or reduced services unless the government increases state funding, following a three-hour protest outside Larnaca Municipal Hall.
“We cannot continue to clean our cities with garbage trucks that are 20 and 30 years old,” said Larnaca mayor and Union of Cyprus Municipalities president Andreas Vyras.
Vyras said many municipalities lacked the funds to maintain roads or purchase new equipment, including refuse collection vehicles. He added that many local projects were being financed through European funds rather than state support.
He said stagnant state funding, rising inflation and higher operating costs had left municipalities facing a “dilemma” between reducing services and increasing fees.
According to Vyras, the purchasing power of state funding had fallen by around 20 per cent over the past year alone.
While he said the “philosophy of the local government reform is not wrong”, Vyras argued that municipalities remained significantly underfunded, making it difficult to meet even their basic obligations.
He empasised that the work stoppage was not directed at residents but was intended to protect them from higher municipal taxes and ensure they continued to receive the services to which they were entitled.
Vyras said the government had presented a new funding proposal on Friday, which municipalities were still examining, but added that it did not appear to address their main concerns.
He expressed hope that an agreement could be reached through continued dialogue, while warning that further action could follow if the government’s latest proposal failed to address the municipalities’ concerns.
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