One of the strongest criticisms that President Gustavo Petro has received, after announcing the replacement of a fleet of Kfir aircraft of the Colombian Air Force (FAC), It has to do with where the money for this million-dollar investment will come from, at a time when the country’s economy is not having a good time.
(The pre-selected planes for the new fleet of the Air Force).
Despite objections from various quartersthe president has stated that the necessary resources for the renewal of the fleet will not come from the collection of the tax reform, which is intended for spending on social investment of the Government program.
“Not a single peso will be spent from the tax reform or from social investment in combat planes,” said President Petro who assured that his priorities “They are and will be agrarian reform, zero hunger, free higher education, the well-being of mothers who are heads of households and the country’s youth.”
Regarding the origin of the resources for the purchase of aircraft to replace the Kfir, which are close to completing their useful life, the Presidency has stated that if the negotiation is closed, the debt will begin to be paid within five years. “with the aim of not sacrificing resources that today are essential for social spending, but that this investment can be made under better economic conditions”they exposed.
(This is how the new war planes they would buy for the country are).
Although the status of the negotiations is not known, the Government stated that it already has the Rafale aircraft of French origin pre-selected.
The Rafale fighter aircraft has a quick reaction alert.
rafale
Faced with criticism from congressmen such as representative Katherine Miranda who wrote: “The tax reform to pay for planes? I think we are wrong here, the priority must be social programs and education”, The Presidency assures that the priorities have not changed and that the agrarian reform, the zero hunger program and the renovation of the educational infrastructure are the most important.
The tax reform to pay for planes?
I think we are wrong here, the priority should be social programs and education.
—Katherine Miranda (@MirandaBogota) December 20, 2022
“In fact, by 2023, the Defense budget was reduced by 800,000 million pesos, which were allocated to other items for social investment,” they emphasized.
For the Government, the purchase of the aircraft is necessary since the current fleet has had more than 42 years of use, more than 30 years of operation in Colombia.
“Its operation and maintenance is expensive and can be risky”, they say and explain that the country is today practically the only operator of the Kfir platform. That means that no aircraft or spare parts are produced. “It’s an unsustainable capacity,” they affirm.
BRIEFCASE
