Abinader swears in Decentralization Cabinet

On the occasion of the commemoration of the National Day of Municipalities, President Luis Abinader launched, through the Ministry of Public Administration (MAP) and the Dominican Municipal League (LMD), the Decentralization Cabinet, with the objective of strengthening the competencies, professionalization and resources in the local governments of the country.

During the activity, the President swore in the members of the Decentralization Cabinet, which seeks to ensure that the welfare of the citizens is managed from close proximity. This is one more step to strengthen the response capacity of the State in the territories and to have an impact on the quality of life of Dominican families.

The Decentralization Cabinet was created in compliance with Article 204 of the Constitution, which promotes the transfer of competencies and resources to local governments. To this end, it seeks to develop a system of transfers from the Executive Branch to local governments that will allow a closer and more efficient management of resources and public policies.

President Abinader requested to continue promoting with the Dominican Municipal League all the actions that favor a broader role of local governments in the prevention and improvement of citizen coexistence.

In this regard, the president ordered, through the Dominican Municipal League, the start of a program for the titling of municipal lands.

“We have arranged, through the Dominican Municipal League, the start of a program for the titling of municipal land and from here I give you the good news that the families who for generations have been tenants of municipal lots, from the development of this titling program, they will be owners or owners of the same. Their claims, forgotten for decades, will be resolved”, informed the President.

He also emphasized that for this year, 2 billion pesos have already been transferred to the Dominican Municipal League (LMD), of which 1.5 billion are being allocated for the start of an asphalting program, which is in the bidding process, and 500 million pesos to continue strengthening and promoting the infrastructure construction program and the needs of local governments.

The President recalled the measures taken for the good of the municipality, highlighting that in the year 2022, 4,000 million pesos were transferred to the LMD for the construction of infrastructure works of municipal competence, as well as the contribution made for the payment of the Christmas salary to the municipal public servants.

Likewise, he said, that in December 2020 and 2021 the government he heads supported the program “Reviving the Joy of Christmas” from the local level, presented by the Dominican Municipal League to bring a post-pandemic festive atmosphere to the citizenry.

“We have demonstrated that the joint action scheme we have promoted gives results, generates opportunities, energizes the local economy and, with complementary mechanisms, helps to strengthen municipal institutions,” said the governor.

The President also said that at the end of last year, through Decree 734-22, he created the Cabinet for the operationalization of the provisions of Art. 204 of the Constitution of the Republic and initiated a system for the transfer of resources and competencies from the central government to local governments.

He stated that for the government he leads, it is of special importance to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of public policies in the territory and the inter-institutional coordination in issues that affect security and citizen coexistence, those linked to the social and economic development of the most vulnerable groups and those that guarantee access to better public services to the population.Abinader swears in Decentralization Cabinet

“Achieving this articulation and laying the foundations for the gradual transfer of competencies and resources from the Executive Branch to the Local Governments is a transcendental step in democracy and in the construction of institutionality and modernization of this country, and we want to achieve it in this administration,” said Abinader.

President Abinader is a true statesman

On his side, the Minister of Public Administration, Dario Castillo, said: “As a true statesman, President Luis Abinader has been a visionary in promoting the autonomy of the municipalities to cede to them functions belonging to the Executive Branch, which will help to streamline the work of local administrations and, consequently, improve the lives of their municipalities”.

Similarly, the Secretary General of the LMD, Víctor D’Aza, highlighted the importance of the path that is opening up as a result of the advances presented as the main benefit in relation to the decentralization process, since the local governments that join the SISMAP Convivencia will be in a better position to be part of the system of transfer of competencies and resources in this area of security and citizen coexistence.

In its first stage, the Decentralization Cabinet will launch the referred SISMAP Convivencia, a monitoring platform designed to strengthen the actions of local governments that impact on an improvement of security and citizen coexistence.

“After a preparation period of 3 months, all local governments that have a minimum of 70% in the Municipal SISMAP, will have the opportunity to enter this new monitoring system under the technical accompaniment of the LMD, the MAP and the MIP in key aspects for security and citizen coexistence in the territories such as: Inter-institutional coordination for security in the territory; Operation of the Municipal Police and Fire Service; Management of public spaces; Articulation with the citizenry for the prevention of violence and conflict resolution; and Traffic management and road safety”, explained D’ Aza.

Similarly, through a video, the mayor of the National District, Carolina Mejía, said that celebrating the municipality is an occasion to highlight the great efforts made by local governments to bring welfare to the people. In this sense, she highlighted the management of President Abinader for being a great municipalist.

Similarly, the president of the Dominican Federation of Municipalities (FEDOMU) and mayor of La Vega, Kelvin Cruz, said that in his 17 years of experience in the municipality he had always seen governments fighting with local governments, without being able to articulate ideas at the same table and that in the administration of President Abinader these outdated schemes have been broken.

In highlighting the qualities and commitment to the municipality, he said that the president has come to stand by the side of the municipalities, to be on the agenda of the mayors and help them with their problems regardless of the political party to which they belong.

Likewise, the executive vice-president of the Institutionality and Justice Foundation (FINJUS), Servio Tulio Castaños Guzmán, highlighted that for the first time in the recent history of the country, the central government initiates a process to produce a system of transfer of competence from executive power organs to local administrations which means the materialization of a dream of those who have dedicated their lives to the best efforts of local governments.

“It opens a magnificent opportunity as well to propitiate the coordination of the different public entities for the achievement of common objectives at a moment in the democratic development of our country”, said Castaños.

The Decentralization Cabinet is composed of Darío Castillo, Minister of Public Administration; Víctor D’Aza, president of the Dominican Municipal League; Antoliano Peralta, legal consultant to the Executive Branch; Félix Santana, Comptroller General of the Republic; Kelvin Cruz, president of FEDOMU; Berenice Barina, representative of the Executive Director of Ethics and Government Integrity, Mrs. Milagros Ortiz Bosch; Berenice Barina, representative of the Executive Director of Ethics and Government Integrity, Mrs. Milagros Ortiz Bosch; and the President of the Dominican Municipal League. Milagros Ortiz Bosch; Domingo Matías, vice minister, representing the Minister of Economy, Planning and Development, Pável Isa Contreras; Ramón Santos, president of FEDODIM; Juan Castillo, director of Fundación Solidaridad, and Servio Tulio Castaños, executive vice-president of FINJUS.

The event was attended by the Minister of Interior and Police, Jesús -Chu- Vásquez Martínez; the former vice-president of El Salvador, Óscar Ortiz; the vice-minister of Governmental Follow-up and Coordination, José Ramón Holguín; the comptroller of the Republic, Félix Santana García, and the legal consultant of the Executive Branch, Antoliano Peralta.

Also, the president of the Dominican Federation of Municipalities (FEDOMU) and mayor of La Vega, Kelvin Cruz, as well as the former president of the Municipal League, Johnny Jones, and mayors from different parts of the country.

Source: presidencia.gov.do

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