Fear over the announced budget cuts of the National Government remains latent among regional leaders. This was evidenced by the governor of Córdoba, Erasmo Zuleta, when he questioned that more and more financing responsibilities are being transferred to the territories, without a proportional increase in resources.
“We are concerned that this cut will affect the regions. We want a response from National Planning and the Government to know if this cut will affect the territorial entities,” said Zuleta.
The governor gave an example of the school feeding program, which in Córdoba costs 120,000 million pesos, of which The National Government only contributes 40,000 million. “We have to take 70,000 million of the little money in royalties that mining generates for the school feeding plan,” he lamented.
“Today the territories have many responsibilities that they tell us every day, but without a budget,” denounced Zuleta, who demanded an “official statement” from the Executive.
Despite the concerns, the regional president reaffirmed the commitment to economic reactivation. “From the territories we are committed, but we need a commitment to strength and support of territorial finances”he pointed out.
This position joins the claims of other governors, who have expressed their concern about the potential andeffects of fiscal adjustment on social investment and ongoing regional programs.
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