One of the priorities of the plenary session of the Congress of Mayors held in Montevideo was to resolve the distribution of the Asymmetry Fund. It is an annual item of 250 million pesos, for four years, created in the accountability of the year 2021 to be delivered to the municipalities, taking into consideration those regions of the country that have had a lower growth rate.
The mayor of Salto, Andrés Lima, who chaired the meeting, said that the following agreement was reached: 20 percent of the 250 million annually will be distributed based on the rates that are in force according to article 214 of the Constitution. The other 80 percent will be distributed based on the four criteria previously agreed upon with OPP, which are data on population, area, unsatisfied basic needs and average per capita wages in each department. “With these criteria, all the departments will receive resources, but those that will receive a higher percentage will be those located in the east and north of the country, which are the regions with the least growth,” explained Lima. In addition, he reported that the creation of a trust was authorized “so that these four items can be delivered all together in this year 2022, in such a way that the municipalities can have a greater volume of resources, which at the end of the pandemic It’s fundamental”.
In the same sense, he added that “in several municipalities we are not thinking of using these resources for road works, because we already have other funds for that, but we are thinking of allocating them to productive and development projects. What today the citizen asks their rulers is to generate employment opportunities, job opportunities.
On June 30, within the Rendering of Accounts, the National Government will send to Parliament what was agreed at this meeting, and it is expected that on July 20 the Congress of Mayors will attend the Commission of Deputies that deals with the matter. “Once Parliament votes on it, the municipalities will be able to access these much-needed resources,” Andrés Lima concluded. In another order, in the same session the Congress of Mayors officially received a proposal from INJU-Mides to generate a quota of 180 students from all over the country who will have the possibility of accessing accommodation in student homes in Montevideo to carry out their studies. “We received the proposal and from now on some details will be discussed to adjust it, but everything that promotes education and gives opportunities to young people from the interior is undoubtedly positive,” Lima emphasized.
