97 per cent satisfaction rate with citizens service centres

The majority of the public who use the island’s citizens service centres (KEP) have reported being served within ten minutes, a survey released by the finance ministry revealed on Friday, showing that 97 per cent of those polled were happy or very happy with the services offered.

Some 67 per cent of those who visited a KEP office and who used it to avoid dealing with civil-service bureaucracy said it only took ten minutes to be called to a counter. Around 28 per cent reported waiting times of ten to 30 minutes. Only 2 per cent said they had experienced waiting times of between 30 and 60 minutes.

More than 94 per cent said they were satisfied with the speed of service and 97 per cent were happy with the courtesy and willingness of staff to assist them.

Over 91 per cent of those polled thought the advance-appointment system helped in this regard and worked well, with over 92 per cent having done so prior to visiting a centre.

In 2023, KEP offices islandwide served an average of 3,210 people daily since the first one opened almost 19 years ago. The only gripe 26 per cent of those surveyed seemed to have was the lack of parking at the KEP centres in Limassol, Paphos, Makarios Avenue in Nicosia and in Larnaca.

In addition to the main towns, there are KEP centres in the Famagusta region, Kolossi in the Limassol district, Pelendri, also in Limassol, Polis Chrysochous in the Paphos district and Kato Pyrgos Tillyrias, also in Paphos.

Almost 75 per cent of the issues dealt with, according to the survey, relate to the issuance of ID cards, passports, birth and death certificates. This is followed by driver’s licence and registrations 60 per cent, and health system Gesy-related services 42.4 per cent. Around 35 per cent of the services dealt with relate to social insurance, pensions, and welfare matters.

Over 80 per cent of people surveyed said the centres contributed to a reduction in bureaucracy while 89 per cent said KEP centres respond well to the needs of the public.

According to the finance ministry, despite the small geographical distribution of the centres across the island, “the impact on the citizen is remarkable”.

Since the first one opened almost 19 years ago, it said, the centres had executed 13.4 million individual actions in person and 5.5 million over the phone.

Of the people surveyed who had telephone contact with KEP staff 65.3 per cent said they were “very satisfied” with the service they received. Another 32.3 per cent said they were “satisfied”.

More than 92 per cent also said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the opening hours at KEP centres and nearly 70 per cent said they only had to visit one time to have their issue dealt with, while close to 20 per cent had to go twice. Only around 3 per cent said their particular issue took three visits or more to settle.