San Cristobal faces challenges

The local government does not have enough resources, but the President has intervened in time with help.

San Cristóbal, considered the gateway to the South, full of history and valuable socio-economic and human resources, today faces embarrassing obstacles that close the way to its integral development, an aspiration that, for decades, has been the commitment and dreams of its population.

This human settlement of more than 233,000 inhabitants, more than 140,000 in the urban area, and the rest in its rural location, weighs an enormous burden of problems now converted into debt.

City managers explain what it is about and how they mobilize to deal with the situation.

There are three primary obstacles: road mobility, citizen security, and rampant unemployment. To all this, Mayor José Montás has referred, who has sought consensus on these difficulties to find solutions.

They are three elements that combine and are capable of causing severe setbacks to the diminished stability of the conglomerate.

The battle against garbage
They have made progress in the garbage collection program, whose waste goes directly to the landfill in Ingenio Nuevo, which is a serious headache for the communities due to its polluting effects.

For Montás, this is “a real disaster,” although he is optimistic there will be “a solution” to this with government assistance.

“We felt joy last year because they said that would become a real landfill,” he said. However, he warned that if there is no state policy to improve that, otherwise, “our environment will continue to deteriorate.”

The management of Montás has been helped by President Abinader, injecting him with economic resources.

Thus, RD$90 million was approved for the construction of works this year, including the cemetery, and a commitment of RD$60 million to improve the market.

To this is added the contribution of RD$12.5 million for the Road Mobility Plan.

Outside of this official aid, San Cristóbal could not achieve the development of vital projects that it requires to move forward.

DETAILS

Works and contributions
José Montás reported that President Abinader contributed RD$85 million for the municipal cemetery, in the Callejón Los Melitones, of Ingenio Nuevo, in an area of 52,771 square meters. The rest is part of the town hall. The total investment is RD$125 million.

On the other hand, he indicated that the level of assessment of his performance places him in 27th place, among 158 municipalities, with a mark of 80 points. That maintains adequate management of the purchasing and bidding processes.