Territorial and social development model
This week the "Territorial Management Model for the Comprehensive Human Development of the Rural parishes of the Cuenca Canton" was delivered with its respective ordinance proposal, establishing an implementation schedule for the following four years.
In February 2020, the University of Azuay had signed a specific agreement with the GAD Cuenca to develop a proposal that deepens and organizes decentralized management from the Municipal Government to the Parish governments.
Until July 2021, 90 work sessions were held between the teams of the UDA and the municipality.
The proposal has been built with the participation of municipal personnel -directors and operatives- from all the departments involved; with personnel from the Parish Autonomous Decentralized Governments (GAD) -presidents, vocals, and technical personnel and urban and rural councilors.
Since 2018, nine urban and municipal control procedures had been delegated to six rural parishes to facilitate the proceedings of their inhabitants, omitting to travel to the center of Cuenca.
Given the increase in procedures in the parishes, the decision was made to extend this project to the 21 parishes, not only for the benefit of the Municipality of Cuenca, but also from the interests of the citizens.
The Territorial Management Model for Integral Human Development has two axes: the first exclusively territorial, which aspires to form parochial territorial technical units that attend to urban control procedures, appraisals, cadastres, coordination of environmental and heritage management; the second linked to social development.
For the latter, technical units of parochial human development will be formed, which will work in conjunction with the directorates of social, cultural and educational development.
It is hoped that in each parish these axes are implemented, which many times, due to the lack of coordination, are focused on the urban perimeter and in the largest parishes. In addition, due to the digital divide, no advice is provided in telematic processes, leaving face-to-face as the only option.
“There is no data on the social aspects: drugs, alcohol, school dropouts, student malnutrition, pregnancy. The data is not parochial, only global or provincial at best. With this plan we seek to provide detailed information so that the government can apply plans according to the needs of the population ”, comments María Cecilia Alvarado, coordinator of the work team of this project.
To collect socioeconomic information on the parish there is a joint effort with the municipality, various universities, ministries and parishes. After obtaining this information, it will be sought to use it to give visibility to rural sectors.
Alvarado adds: “The parish assemblies invest their participatory budgets, ignoring the social aspects. With the application of this decentralization plan they will be able to know how their population lives in order to use their resources appropriately ”.
UDA Correspondent
