The territorial delegate of Regeneration, Justice and Local Administration in Almería, José Luis Delgado, visited Tahal today, where he met with the mayoress, Trinidad Jiménez, and was able to see the improvements in municipal facilities where services are provided to residents and the acquisition of public equipment that the Town Hall is undertaking thanks to a grant of 28,743.58 euros from the Regional Ministry. This is a grant aimed especially at the “smaller municipalities that are losing population”, in order to help them improve the infrastructure and services they offer to their inhabitants in order to fix the population in the territory.
Delgado has highlighted the support of the regional ministry led by Juan Marín for municipalism in the face of the problem of depopulation, which in the province of Almería affects inland areas above all. “For the first time, criteria such as population density, demographic growth or the ageing index have been established in the bases of a call for aid, and priority is given to the smallest municipalities”.
Specifically, 13 municipalities in the province of Almería have benefited from this aid, including Tahal. Subsidies of up to 30,000 euros have been granted so that the municipalities can purchase equipment or machinery necessary for the provision of public services, undertake works in municipal buildings or make investments to stimulate economic activity and job creation.
Delgado pointed out that the main problem for local entities, especially the smallest ones, is funding, so that with their own resources alone they would not be able to undertake many projects and works that are essential to provide them with decent infrastructures and services, comparable to those in other places, to ensure that the population stays in the municipalities.
In this regard, he stressed “the commitment” of the Andalusian Government and especially the Vice President Juan Marín with the provision of resources for municipalities, as evidenced by the increase that since 2019 has been made of the Patrica, which had been frozen for seven years, an unconditional funding that this year reaches a total of 510 million euros. In the case of Tahal, from the Patrica it will receive 156,000 euros this year “and this is very important for the daily management that the town councils have to carry out”.
Delgado also highlighted the 10% increase in the allocation to the Programme for the Promotion of Agricultural Employment (PFEA), which is co-financed by the Junta with the SEPE and the Provincial Councils and which “is essential to help local councils to create jobs and carry out works that they could not do on their own”. This year, the council is contributing 23,287.50 euros to the PFEA projects presented by the Tahal Town Council to adapt public spaces and the road network, as well as to undertake reforms in the rural public school, as keeping educational centres open in small municipalities is essential to stop depopulation.
For her part, the mayoress thanked the Regional Ministry for its help, which will enable part of the Town Hall facilities to be refurbished, such as the Plenary Hall and, above all, to eliminate architectural barriers in the municipal buildings to guarantee accessibility for people with reduced mobility, and asked the delegate to “continue investing in the small towns that are depopulated and have great needs”.
