The interim Minister of Transportation and Public Works, Claudia Peris, presided – together with the coordinator of the Decentralization Area of the Planning and Budget Office (OPP), José Manuel Arenas – the first session of the year of the Sectoral Decentralization Commission.
During the instance, infrastructure and productive development projects were approved for the departments of Artigas, Cerro Largo, Colonia, Durazno, Florida, Lavalleja and Río Negro, which will be financed through the Interior Development Fund (FDI).
Budget certainty for departments
José Manuel Arenas stressed that, although the final adjustment for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is pending, the base figure for Colonia has already been stipulated.
“What we actually know is what is the quota available for each mayor based on the approved budget and in accordance with the agreement that we reached with the mayors last year,” explained the OPP leader.
This allocation of 107 million pesos represents the total available quota that the Municipality of Colonia will be able to execute throughout the year, in a technical cycle that “starts on January 1 and ends on December 31.”
Projects in validation stage
Despite having defined the economic item, the details of the specific works that will be carried out in Colonia territory have not yet been made public, since it depends on the proposals presented by the departmental government.
Arenas clarified the administrative process: “We formally, from OPP, know how much money is available, but not what the projects are yet. Those counterprojects presented by the mayor are approved and validated in the OPP and then have the approval of the Sectoral Commission.”
It is expected that in the coming months the OPP will receive and formalize the Cologne initiatives, which are traditionally aimed at:
-Road and urban infrastructure.
-Acquisition of machinery and equipment.
-Local productive development projects.
The Sectoral Decentralization Commission thus reaffirms its role as the axis of coordination between the Executive Branch and the departmental governments to ensure the flow of resources to the interior of the country.
