Famagusta’s district office is contemplating a temporary return to paper-based building permit submissions due to persistent inefficiencies with the digital Ippodamos system. District governor and former minister Yiannis Karousos announced the potential shift on Friday, highlighting frustrations with the online platform’s slow response times and frequent outages.
Karousos explained to CyBC that starting Monday, applications in Famagusta would need to be submitted in physical form. “When the deputy ministry resolves the issues and delivers a reliable, efficient system, we will transition back to it,” he stated.
However, this move has drawn criticism from officials advocating for digital transformation. Head of the planning department Kyriacos Koundouros warned that abandoning the online system would disrupt his department, which is already phasing out paper processes. He noted that since July, over 4,000 applications had been processed online, with more than 80% receiving approval.
Deputy Minister of Innovation Nicodemos Damianou defended the progress made, asserting that the Ippodamos system has digitized many procedures. He emphasized ongoing improvements, including faster processing times and enhanced connectivity with the land registry. “Month by month, the number of applications successfully processed is doubling,” Damianou said, adding that user-friendly updates are being implemented based on feedback.
Echoing this sentiment, Technical Chamber (Etek) president Constantinos Constanti argued against reverting to paper, describing it as a “step backward.” He acknowledged the shortcomings in the digital transition but stressed the need to focus on improvements rather than abandoning progress.
All district EOA heads are scheduled to meet to address the issue and explore collaborative solutions.
Source: Cyprus Mail