One-stop public service programme extends to rural areas

PRESIDENT Tassos Papadopoulos visited Pelendri yesterday for the official opening of the new Citizen Service Centre (CSC) in the village.

The Centre at Pelendri is the fourth such service point in the country; Nicosia CSC has been operating since December 2005, Limassol CSC since October 2006 and Polis Chrysochous CSC since January 2007.

CSCs aim at offering a customer-focused approach to public service-providing, in contrast to the more traditional and bureaucratic models of public administration. These centres work extended hours (8am-5pm), aim at providing speedy service, following simpler procedures and offer under one roof a range of services, to avoid the need for people to run from one public office to another.

Services on offer include the issuing of various types of certificates, including IDs, passport renewal, and submitting applications for different government departments, including public grant applications. In addition, citizens have access to the internet to search for information, as well as to submit applications electronically.

The Ministry of Finance has stated that the final objective is to have Citizen Service Centres at more locations, offering easy access to all citizens.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.