Cyprus municipalities more dependent on the state despite reform

Economy financegovernmentTop News Cyprus municipalities more dependent on the state despite reform Relevant News Cyprus municipalities more dependent on the state despite reform 30 July 2026 Central Bank flags Middle East and climate as key risks 30 July 2026 Demetriou leads in every scenario, DISY poll shows 30 July 2026 newsroom 30 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Cyprus’s Local Government reform was designed to reduce municipalities’ financial dependence on the state. Phileleftheros’s own figures show the opposite has happened: dependence has risen, not fallen, by several percentage points. Following its earlier reporting on the reform, Phileleftheros is now presenting each municipality’s revenue for 2025. According to the data obtained by the newspaper, the share of municipal revenue made up of state grants has increased, rather than decreased, and by a significant margin. There is also no sign this imbalance will be corrected. Municipalities’ demands for higher state grants would themselves push the ratio up further, deepening their dependence on the state rather than reducing it. So far, the numbers don’t support the promises made by political parties and parliament when the reform was decided, with the bill continuing to rise for the state year after year. Something similar is happening with local authority fees, which have also increased. In short, the data so far shows both higher municipal fees and greater dependence on the state through grants. The figures reflect what is actually happening around the Local Government reform: the bill is rising for everyone, for taxpayers and residents alike. Grants make up nearly 38% of revenue The clearest example of this is the data on municipalities’ total revenue and the share of that revenue made up of grants, which averages close to 38% across all 20 municipalities, as shown in the table below. This percentage appears both in the approved 2025–2026 budgets and in municipalities’ own forecasts for 2027–2028. The paradox is not just that 4 out of every 10 euros in each municipality’s revenue is a state grant. Before the reform, this ratio stood at close to 29%. Following the changes decided and implemented, dependence has not simply failed to fall. It has increased by around 9 percentage points. According to municipalities’ own forecasts, this dependence reaches 38.55% in 2026, based on the original agreement of €144 million per year. It is then expected to fall to close to 37% in 2027 and 2028. However, these forecasts do not appear to take into account municipalities’ new requests for increased state grants, which would, as expected, push this figure higher still. The 38% average does not fully reflect what appears to be happening, unjustifiably, since the reform. Some municipalities are severely over-dependent on state grants, with the grant exceeding even 60% of their revenue, while the stated purpose of creating new municipalities and carrying out the reform was precisely the opposite. Which municipalities are most dependent According to the data, the municipalities most dependent on the state are: Lefkara: 67.50% of revenue is a state grant South Nicosia-Idalion: 56.97% of revenue is a state grant Athienou: 51.07% of revenue is a state grant Several other municipalities exceed 40%, including Latsia-Geri, Aradippou, Polemidia, and Dromolaxia-Meneou. By contrast, the municipalities with the lowest dependence appear to be Paphos and Limassol, at 24.26% and 24.84% respectively. 2025 municipal revenue and state grants The table below shows total revenue, state grant amounts, and grant dependency for each of Cyprus’s 20 municipalities in 2025. MunicipalityTotal revenueState grantGrant as % of revenueNicosia€74,671,100€25,240,77133.80%Lakatamia€16,259,418€7,711,49747.43%Strovolos€34,431,691€10,612,35430.82%Latsia-Geri€11,686,980€5,131,07843.90%South Nicosia-Idalion€9,503,684€5,414,08256.97%Limassol€78,834,609€19,581,51724.84%Amathounta€26,909,576€7,010,17826.05%Polemidia€8,679,516€4,069,47446.89%Kourion€19,962,866€6,423,19632.18%Larnaca€39,618,610€12,016,88530.33%Aradippou€11,117,327€5,159,79346.41%Dromolaxia-Meneou€7,751,142€3,426,05444.20%Lefkara€4,274,591€2,885,55467.50%Athienou€3,528,255€1,801,81651.07%Ayia Napa€22,928,896€6,033,16426.31%Paralimni-Deryneia€27,609,459€6,912,68725.04%Paphos€31,900,105€7,737,75024.26%Ierokipia€10,559,214€3,687,30934.92%Akamas€11,461,760€3,812,57833.26%Polis Chrysochous€11,768,933€3,601,55930.60%Total (all 20 municipalities)€463,457,732€148,269,29637.84% Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Central Bank flags Middle East and climate as key risks Demetriou leads in every scenario, DISY poll shows Trade, tourism and property most exposed to risks, says Central Bank GEMS Education plans €40m private school in Limassol Document reveals history behind fraud case against Kakos Cyprus searches for seven-member board to unlock €69m EU funds Fitto to visit Cyprus for talks with Christodoulides and Erhurman Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.