The Civic Board demands attention from the authorities, while working on the initiative.
Forming a new independent canton of Quito is the objective of the citizens of Tumbaco, Cumbayá, Nayón, Puembo and Pifo.
The inhabitants of the five parishes formed the Civic Board of the Tumbaco Valley, an organization that proposes this alternative to combat the problems of the area and improve their quality of life.
Juan Fernando Serrano, president of this organization, said that the idea began to take shape in October 2018, but only in March 2019 the board was legally constituted with more than 70 active members.
The Organic Code of Territorial Organization, Autonomy and Decentralization (Cootad) states that to create a canton, communities must meet requirements. For example, have a resident population of at least 50,000 inhabitants, of which at least 12,000 must live in the cantonal capital.
According to the projections of the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), among the five parishes they exceed 171 400 inhabitants and in Tumbaco (possible cantonal head) live no less than 63 000.
In addition, the regulations specify that there must be physical delimitation of the territory, that is, the parishes must be together and must have at least 10 years of creation. The five parishes meet those requirements.
In turn, applicants must submit favorable reports from the provincial government and the national planning agency and other documents to finally have the support, via popular consultation, of the population that will integrate the new canton.
The legal proposal must be presented as an initiative of the President of the Republic for approval in the National Assembly.
According to the Civic Board, the five parishes want to become independent because they believe there is an abandonment of the authorities.
A survey that was coordinated with the social organization determined that 76.5%, of a sample applied to 380 people, agreed to belong to a new canton.
In addition, 42.57% of respondents pointed to insecurity as the main problem they have in parishes. They are followed by the poor state of the streets with 20.79%, garbage with 15.84%, lack of works with 7.92%, and poor administration with 6.93%.
65% of the respondents considered that the Mayor’s Office does not give importance to this area even though its contribution for the payment of the property tax ranges between USD 12 million and USD 15 million.
Serrano added that Rumiñahui canton, for example, has a budget of USD 51.9 million; while the parish of Tumbaco receives USD 1.7 million, Nayón USD 653,000, and Cumbayá USD 447,000.
Councilwoman Luis Reina, a member of the Territorial Planning Commission of the Municipality of Quito, said that it is best to move towards a regional government before a proliferation of cantons.
Source: El Comercio, social networks
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