October 1, 2024, 4:02 AM
October 1, 2024, 4:02 AM
More than seven million hectares had to burn in Santa Cruz alone for the Government to declare a national disaster and activate the mechanisms that would allow channel international aid, make budget modifications, make direct purchases and access a fund intended to face the emergency.
Air combat will also be reinforced and one of the first measures, after the declaration, was the announcement of the purchase of 400 guard boxes for water discharges and the incorporation of a Hercules aircraft. In addition, President Luis Arce brought together the diplomatic corps accredited in Bolivia to report on the fire situation seeking to coordinate and manage more international support.
The disaster declaration also authorizes the Ministry of Defense to establish the trust, Fund for Risk Reduction and Attention to Disasters and Emergencies (Forade)with the purpose of capturing and managing resources to finance risk management at the national, departmental, municipal and indigenous indigenous peasant autonomies, as established by Risk Management Law 602.
This trust will have as financing sources 0.15% of the total of the General Budget of the State consolidated expenses, approved for each fiscal management, whose resources will be used primarily as counterpart for the risk management actions. In addition, monetizable donations, credits, specific resources from multilateral or bilateral cooperation for risk management, resources generated by the trust and other sources of financing.
Empowers public entities at all levels of the State, in charge of disaster relief, to make budget modifications and transfers between items, in accordance with the existing and specific regulations established by the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance.
It also empowers them to contract goods and services, under the modality of disaster or emergency contracting for the care of the affected population, which means that it shortens the processes without bidding.
President Arce, during the announcement of the declaration, explained that the measure seeks to achieve cooperation international, but also urged legislators to approve the pending credits.
In that sense, he recalled that the national government, On September 11, he already sent to the Assembly a bill for the approval of a credit with the Andean Development Corporation for 75 million dollars.
He added that, since last week, another project has been in the Assembly for the approval of a loan with the Inter-American Development Bank for 250 million dollars.
Arce explained that these resources are needed to hire more planes that are being effective in the fight against the fires, in the purchase of more guard boxes and in equipping some Air Force aircraft. He pointed out that resources are also required to adapt a Presidency helicopter to do health care, for the reconstruction of homes, to mobilize more effective and guarantee food security, among other measures.
For his part, the Minister of Defense, Edmundo Novillo, pointed out that the declaration requires redoubling efforts in putting out the fires, but also to work on a recovery plan for the affected areas.
According to Novillo, the interventions will prioritize the departments and municipalities declared in disaster. “There we will focus all our attention”he stated.
The minister also announced the purchase of 400 guard boxes, in addition to the 200 previously acquired, to strengthen aerial water discharge operations in the fire area. These operations include the use of aircraft, including the Electra Tanker aircraft, and efforts are being made to reinforce the number of aircraft. The Armed Forces will incorporate another Hercules aircraft in the coming days and the combat brigades will be reinforced, in addition to the equipment, said the minister.
The Government is betting on putting out the fire by air, combined with ground operations, because the use of guard boxes has given good results in areas that are difficult to access. Each one has the capacity to store up to 1,000 liters of water and are specifically designed for aerial mitigation. These boxes include a built-in fire retardant to maximize their effectiveness in fighting flames. This ensures that the water released during aerial operations has an optimized impact, reinforcing the efforts of emergency brigades on the ground.
Minister Novillo explained that, in this disaster situation, not only the national government will manage the economic resources necessary to reinforce attention to emergencies, but municipal governments also They have the opportunity to seek international financing. “As a national government, we are willing to channel the achievement of resources,” said the minister.
In addition, he highlighted that the country has already received help from Brazil, Venezuela, Spain, Chile and other countries.
On the same day, President Arce met with the ambassadors of countries and international organizations accredited in Bolivia. “The situation we are going through in the country deserves greater cooperation and effort for each one of us, because this type of phenomenon no longer only corresponds to the struggle of a single country,” said Arce.
The Government also launched a health strengthening plan for medical care. As part of this plan, the Minister of Health, María Renée Castro, reported that all the programs They will be added to the medical care work carried out in the municipalities, and the number of ambulances available will also be increased.
In addition, Castro announced the distribution of a ton and a half of medicines and medical supplies, intended to treat cases of conjunctivitis, an eye condition due to the adverse conditions generated by smoke.
For his part, Luis Fernando Roca, general advisor of the Government of Santa Cruz, indicated that both the current Governor, Mario Aguileraas well as the Departmental Legislative Assembly, requested the declaration of disaster, so that extraordinary resources could be enabled.
Meanwhile, the municipalities hope that the declaration disaster will speed up the arrival of aid to places affected by fire.
