It ensures that the urgency of this decree law is fully justified since it guarantees that city councils have liquidity to combat the social and economic crisis derived from the pandemic.
Furthermore, it highlights the boost it brings to citizen participation, avoiding obstacles to this right.
The president of the Gomera Socialist Group (ASG) in the regional Chamber, Melodie Mendoza, defended the urgency to modify the Canarian Municipal Financing Fund through the decree law approved this Wednesday in an extraordinary plenary session, since as she explained, "it is an essential instrument that will provide oxygen to the municipal coffers and that also has the consensus of Fecam and the Canarian Government."
For Melodie Mendoza, it is essential that city councils, which are the first door that citizens knock on to request help, have liquidity that allows them to combat the social and economic crisis derived from the pandemic, addressing the needs of the Canary Islands. “Local entities play a crucial role in matters such as social rights and carry out works that generate economy and employment,” he clarified. “If these losses are not compensated, it will be almost impossible for them to maintain the welfare state in their municipalities,” he added.
Mendoza recalled that this modification not only includes the change in spending policies, but also allows these funds to continue being used for sanitation, if needed.
In addition, he highlighted that part of the excess financing not used in 2019 can be used for social and health purposes and that an exceptional advance from the fund for local corporations be established before the end of the second quarter, in order to provide greater liquidity. “Therefore, this decree adapts at all times to the spending needs generated by the pandemic and tries to give them financial facilities,” he explained.
Citizen participation
On the other hand, Mendoza highlighted another of the benefits that the decree includes when it comes to promoting citizen participation, since it eliminates obstacles by modifying the Citizen Participation Registry, being mandatory only for participatory processes but not for people or entities, which guarantees an open and accessible nature in the right to participate of citizens and social entities.
Finally, he requested the maximum consensus of the Regional Chamber to approve the decree despite the fact that the Advisory Council's statement regarding citizen participation is not favorable with the forms but he did clarify that it agrees with the objective. "In addition, the approval of this decree law is urgent, which has no other purpose than to give oxygen to local entities and with it to all the Canary Islands who need it most," he highlighted.
