After a popular consultation was held to decide the creation of the Southwest Metropolitan Area (Amso)three of the seven districts and municipalities convened gave the green light to carry out this initiative: Cali and Jamundí (Valle del Cauca) and Puerto Tejada (Cauca).
The municipalities of Palmira, Dagua, Candelaria and Villa Ricabut in these the ‘no’ was the result that prevailed.
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However, for the Mayor of Cali, Alejandro Ederthis was a win in a bet”which proposes to unite regional efforts for the collective benefit of the municipalities involved“.
“We did it together. Cali exceeded the threshold of more than 93,000 voters. This victory is the result of the joint effort of all citizens, who with their vote contributed to the construction of a shared future”Eder said.
Cali
Paola Castillo, mayor of Jamundíassured that in this municipality, with 70.92% of the votes in favor, he achieved the yes in the popular consultation on November 24. “This integration will allow progress in joint projects in infrastructure, mobility, economic development and environmental management, benefiting the entire community. Jamundí’s commitment to working to make this integration an engine of progress for Jamundí is reaffirmed.“he noted.
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“Amso is going to connect us with Cali and with the other municipalities of the metropolitan area so that we can move forward, solving these problems that have affected us, that is why we invite the entire community of these municipalities to vote yes for the metropolitan area“said, for her part, the Mayor of Puerto Tejada, Luz Adiela Salazar.
What is a metropolitan area?
As established by Law 1625 of 2013, metropolitan areas are “They are administrative entities of public law, formed by a set of two or more municipalities integrated around a core municipality, linked to each other by territorial, environmental, economic, social, demographic, cultural and technological dynamics and interrelationships that for the programming and coordination of Its sustainable development, human development, territorial planning and rational provision of public services require a coordinated administration“.
In a metropolitan area, municipalities from the same department or from another department can be integrated around a municipality defined as the nucleus.
Will there be a metropolitan area, even if Palmira, Candelaria, Dagua and Villa Rica say no?
Yes. It will be made up, in principle, of the three municipalities that voted yes to the proposal: Cali, Jamundí and Puerto Tejada. If in the future, the municipalities that said they do not wish to join will be able to do so, but legal and democratic mechanisms must be sought for this objective.
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Will Cali, Jamundí and Puerto Tejada cease to be autonomous municipalities with their respective mayors or will the region have a single mayor?
No. Each municipality will continue to be a territorial entity with its mayors elected by the citizens of these localities. As the new metropolitan area there will be a core municipality, in this case, Cali because it is the capital of a department.
If more than one municipality were the capital of a department in the metropolitan area or none of them met this condition, the core municipality would be the one with the highest category in the first place, in accordance with Law 617 of 2000. As Cali is the capital of the Valley del Cauca, becomes the core municipality of Amso.
Where will the Southwest metropolitan area work?
The jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Area corresponds to the entire territory of the municipalities that make it up; The domicile and headquarters of the entity will be the core municipality.
What are the powers that Amso has?
– Program and coordinate the harmonious, integrated and sustainable development of the municipalities that comprise it.
– Rationalize the provision of public services by the municipalities that comprise it, and if applicable, provide some of them jointly; may participate in its provision in a subsidiary manner, when there is no legal regime that regulates its provision or when such regulation exists, it is accepted that the metropolitan area is an official or authorized provider.
– Execute road infrastructure works and develop projects of social interest in the metropolitan area;
– Establish, in accordance with the provisions of the regulations on territorial planning, the specific guidelines and guidelines for the planning of the territory of the municipalities that comprise it, in order to promote and facilitate the harmonization of their Territorial Planning Plans.
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What are its functions?
– Identify and regulate metropolitan events, in accordance with the provisions of this law.
– Formulate and adopt the Comprehensive Metropolitan Development Plan with a long-term perspective, including the territorial physical planning component in accordance with current legal provisions, as a general rule of mandatory nature that the municipalities that comprise it must adhere to when adopting territorial planning plans in relation to matters related to metropolitan events.
– The formulation and adoption of the Comprehensive Metropolitan Development Plan must be carried out in accordance with the national development plans and of the territorial entities, so that they are articulated with the guidelines of the national planning system.
– Formulate and adopt the Metropolitan Strategic Plan for Territorial Planning, which will be the framework to which each of the municipalities that make up the area must adhere when adopting the territorial planning plans.
What projects will Amso carry out?
– Coordinate in its respective territory, the National Social Interest Housing System and adopt policies for the development of metropolitan housing programs, in accordance with current regulations, in accordance with the Third Law of 1991 and with the policies and programs of the Nation in matters of social and priority housing.
– Create and/or participate in the formation of real estate banks for land management in the municipalities of their jurisdiction.
– Coordinate, rationalize and manage metropolitan public services; If applicable, it may participate in its provision in a subsidiary manner when there is no legal regime that regulates its provision or when such regulation exists, it is accepted that the metropolitan area is an official or authorized provider;
– Participate in the constitution of public, mixed or private entities destined to provide public services, when the needs of the region warrant it.
– Undertake the necessary actions to have the necessary land for the execution of works of metropolitan interest.
– Execute metropolitan works in accordance with the provisions of the Comprehensive Metropolitan Development Plan, the Metropolitan Strategic Plan for Territorial Planning and the plans and programs that develop or complement it.
– Exercise the functions and powers of environmental authority in the urban perimeter in accordance with the provisions of Law 99 of 1993.
– Support the municipalities that comprise it in the execution of works to respond to emergency or calamity situations, within the framework of their powers;
– Sign contracts or plan agreements, within the framework of current legal provisions.
– Formulate the regional mobility policy, within the framework of the Metropolitan Strategic Plan for Territorial Planning, in accordance with the jurisdiction of metropolitan events.
– Exercise the function of public transportation authority in the area of its jurisdiction, in accordance with the law, the authorizations and approvals granted pursuant to it;
– Formulate and adopt instruments for the planning and development of metropolitan transportation, within the framework of the Metropolitan Strategic Plan for Territorial Planning.
– Plan the provision of the urban public passenger transport service within its competence for the physical, operational and fare integration of the different modes of transport, in coordination with the different Mass transport systems and the strategic transport systems, where they exist.
– Formulate, adopt and implement plans for the location, preservation and appropriate use of free spaces for parks and public green areas.
– For the mayor of Cali, Alejandro Eder, Amso will allow progress in projects, such as the commuter train and its integration into the means of transportation of each municipality, as a way of making transportation through the city easier and less expensive. unification of rates.
– In security, more forceful strategies against crime will be created, providing resources and tools to take care of the limits of each municipality.
– In environmental matters, the polluting load that the Cauca River has as it passes through Cali will be reduced and that ends up affecting the other municipalities that share this water source.
Is Puerto Tejada within the Cali Metropolitan Police?
As explained by the mayor of Cali, the three municipalities that said yes are part of the first phase of the Southwest metropolitan area.
“To the extent that the inhabitants of Candelaria, Dagua, Palmira and Villa Rica see the benefits, and also those of Yumbo, the expectation is that in the near future they will enter”, assured Mayor Eder.
The official also announced that one of the initial measures that will be adopted aims to strengthen the security, intermunicipal transportation and public health components. Likewise, he said that this November 25 he will contact the director of the National Police, William Salamanca, so that Puerto Tejada is included in the coverage of the Cali Metropolitan Police, a strategy that already covers Jamundí: “This metropolitan area will be the luxury of southwestern Colombia”, highlighted Alejandro Eder.
PORTFOLIO
*With information from EL TIEMPO
