The territorial delegate of Regeneration, Justice and Local Administration in Almería, José Luis Delgado, has visited Olula del Río, where he met with the mayor, Antonio Martínez Pascual, to learn about some of the projects carried out by the Town Council with subsidies from the Regional Ministry, such as repairs to pavements and supply networks damaged by the DANA or in municipal buildings such as the roofs of the music conservatory, as well as the actions carried out in public spaces under the Programme for the Promotion of Agricultural Employment (PFEA). In the last two years, the Council has invested more than 156,500 euros in the town to improve infrastructure and equipment.
Delgado recalled that, after the DANA of 2019, the Board arbitrated an extraordinary fund of ten million euros for municipalities affected by the cold drop, including Olula del Río, which received 100,548 euros to fix pavements, supply networks and utilities. In this regard, he recalled that new aid of up to 120,000 euros is currently being processed for localities that have suffered damage caused by adverse weather events such as earthquakes or floods. “There are already town councils such as Tíjola and Vícar that are receiving these subsidies, which could be applied for until 20 June and whose resolution period is four months”, reported the territorial head of Local Administration.
As for the PFEA, the Council has allocated between 2019 and 2020 a total of 56,025 euros to projects implemented by the City Council of Olula del Río in various streets and public spaces of the municipality and infrastructure such as the cemetery. “The PFEA is an example of collaboration between administrations, as it is co-financed by the Junta, the central government through the SEPE, the provincial councils and local authorities, and has proved to be a fundamental programme for creating employment and guaranteeing decent public facilities and services for the residents of the municipalities,” the delegate emphasised.
“For this year, the Regional Ministry led by Juan Marín will contribute more than 3.3 million euros to the PFEA works carried out by local councils in the province, such as those that the Olula del Río Town Council needs to carry out in the Antonio Relaños public school,” announced Delgado.
The territorial head of Local Administration in Almeria has highlighted the “commitment of this government, and especially of the vice-president Juan Marín, to the town councils, as we are aware that they are the closest administration to the citizens and the first to have to meet their needs, often with scarce financial resources”.
The Junta allows local councils to defer payment of their debts by two years
For this reason, he stressed that “the Governing Council has just approved a Decree-Law so that local councils that have debts with the Junta de Andalucía can defer payment for two years and, after this period, pay in instalments over 15 years, in order to facilitate access to European Next Generation funds and other public subsidies”.
“This is to stand shoulder to shoulder with local entities, helping them with deeds and not words, not only through direct aid from the Junta de Andalucía, such as those we have launched from the Regional Ministry to combat depopulation or guarantee services in the face of seasonal increases in population; but also by facilitating access to other resources aimed at reviving the economy and employment after the crisis caused by the pandemic,” he said.
