The territorial delegate of Regeneration, Justice and Local Administration of the Regional Government in Almería, José Luis Delgado, has visited Huércal-Overa, where he met with the mayor, Domingo Fernández, and was able to see some of the projects being carried out by the Town Hall under the Programme for the Promotion of Agricultural Employment (PFEA). The Regional Ministry, under the direction of Juan Marín, is co-financing these works with a contribution of 128,250 euros this year.
Specifically, the projects presented by the Huércal-Overa Town Council to the PFEA include the adaptation of a municipal kiosk, environmental maintenance works and actions in public spaces. «In short, improvements in public facilities and services for the residents that the Council could not afford with its own resources, hence the importance of collaboration between administrations,» he said during the visit, in which, in addition to the councillor, the deputy mayor, María del Mar Meca, and the councillor for Works, Blas Sánchez, accompanied the delegate.
In addition to improving municipal infrastructures, Delgado underlined the job creation that the PFEA works represent. In the case of Huércal Overa, this year’s projects provide work for 163 people.
The commitment to the PFEA is a sign of the commitment of the Andalusian Government, and especially of the Vice President, Juan Marín, with the municipalism, as the municipalities are the closest administrations to the citizens and the first to have to solve their problems and needs. This year, the Regional Ministry of Local Administration is providing a total of more than 3.1 million for the more than 230 projects presented by the municipalities of Almeria. This is 9.5% more than last year and the forecast is that these works will create 5,000 jobs in the province.
Within the framework of this commitment to cooperation with the municipalities, Delgado referred to other measures implemented by the current regional government such as the progressive increase of the Patrica from 2019, after being frozen since 2014, unconditional funding through the Participation in the taxes of the Autonomous Community, which in the case of Huércal-Overa exceeds 1.4 million this year. He also recalled that the Junta’s debt with local entities has been reduced and local councils have been allowed to defer and split the payment of their debts with the regional government to facilitate access to European Next Generation funds. He also referred to various lines of aid launched by the Regional Ministry of Local Administration for small municipalities and for those with more than 20,000 inhabitants, a figure that Huércal-Overa exceeded in the last census.
For his part, the mayor, Domingo Fernandez, stressed the importance of the PFEA for the municipality because «thanks to the actions being carried out we are improving and rebuilding various streets and squares that had deteriorated, while improving access and beautifying the municipality. We are modernising different areas and creating new infrastructures with works that also offer employment opportunities for a significant number of our residents».
Fernández highlighted the importance of the institutional collaboration between the Town Council, the Provincial Council, the Andalusian Regional Government and the State – through the SEPE – to improve the wellbeing of the people of Huercal.
