“Contemporary Municipality and TRNC Municipality Reform” discussed at EUL

European University of Lefke (EUL) Faculty of Economics & Administrative Sciences Department of Public Administration organized a conference themed “Contemporary Municipality and TRNC Municipality Reform”. T.R.N.C Union of Municipalities Chairperson and Mayor of Gönyeli Ahmet Benli attended the conference as a speaker.

Benli stated that the foundations of the contemporary municipalities were a condition of autonomy in local government and Council of Europe local governments in the Constitution of TRNC and added that 119^th article of the TRNC Constitution determines the local authority types. Benli stated that the establishment, duties and authorities of the local governments were regulated by law in accordance with the principle of administration and that the elections of the local governing bodies were held every four years in accordance with the principles in Article 68.

Benli said that there are three main functions of Council of Europe Local and Regional Congress and listed these as government committee, affair committee, and monitoring committee. Benli said that “The Council of Europe’s local autonomy condition should form the basis for reform in our country” and added that the main goal of the reform should be to transform taxes into the service in a fastest possible way. Benli stated that the basic ground of the municipal reform should be the democratic and transparent work, the institutional structure that will turn the people’s tax into the service in the most effective way, and added that the system should be more transparent and auditable. Benli also explained the structure of the TRNC municipalities by looking at the Gönyeli Municipality.

Giving examples about research on Municipality reforms, Benli stated that the answers to the survey question “do you believe that by combining some municipalities, reducing the number of municipalities from 28 to 15 would be beneficial for better service?” were; 49.2% yes, 43.3%, no and 7.5% I don’t know. Benli also stated that the answers to the survey question “what is the service of your municipality that you like the most?” was; 33.1% environmental planning, and answers to the survey question “What is the most important problem your cities municipality?” was 19.8% road maintenance.

Benli said that, “It is important to manage and plan the growth in municipalities, and not to waste national wealth. Gönyeli is one of the fastest inhabited settlements. Therefore, we need to be able to manage the effects of growing up,”. He also pointed out that growth increases the budget and strengthens the abilities while increasing the responsibilities.

At the end of the conference, plaque and certificate of appreciation were offered to Benli who answered the questions of the students, by EUL’s Vice Rectors Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Oğuz and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Akın Cellatoğlu.