Peru is among the main metal producing countries in the world, and although its great potential for the mining production should be equivalent to a better quality of life for people, during 2022 it is observed that -on average- the execution of the canon resources of regional governments reached only 70%. In other words, almost 1 out of every 3 soles assigned to them were not executed.
The Bicentennial Observatory indicates that in some of the regions with the greatest mining activity the situation is particularly serious: the regional government of Cajamarca, for example, executed 45.6% of the resources assigned to it (583 million soles); while Ancash, the region that received the largest canon and royalty budget (836 million soles), only used 51.8%. The regional government of Huánuco (32.2%) and Tumbes (41.9%) also stands out for its very low execution.
The low execution of these regions is alarming since they have latent challenges to face in key aspects for the human development of citizens. On the one hand, Cajamarca is the third region with the highest chronic child malnutrition, while 72% of households with children who study do not have all the basic services (water, sanitation, electricity, telephone and internet). In Áncash, 41% of children between 6 and 36 months of age have anemia, while 17% of children under 5 years of age suffer from chronic malnutrition. On the other hand, close to 60% of households with children who attend school do not have all the basic services.
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Luis Miguel Castilla, executive director of the Videnza Institute, explains that the main problem would be linked to the mismanagement of the mining canon resources. “Many times the local ruler on duty uses the resources with the wrong criteria and on issues that are not a priority, without guaranteeing a minimum of social impact.” holds.
Corruption is also a determining factor in this negative panorama -Castilla adds- due to a series of deficiencies and management problems such as the lack of timely internal control, lack of technical capacities, the high turnover of authorities and/or the lack of real planning that close gaps.
