National government commits $ 150 million to cover the debt of the Quito metro

The national government committed $ 150 million to cover the debt of the Quito metro, as announced by the President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso, during the solemn session of the city of San Francisco de Quito, to celebrate the 487 years of its foundation.

The first president said that it is time to request that the Quito metro immediately have its operating model as announced by the mayor, Santiago Guarderas, for which he affirmed that his government will support it so that it becomes operational as soon as possible. .

Guillermo Lasso, this December 6, accompanied by his wife, the Vice President of the Republic, Alfredo Borrero and some ministers of State participated in the ceremony at the Sucre National Theater, where there were speeches alluding to the date and also a balance of the management developed by the current municipal administration in the first 66 days of mandate.

Lasso reminisced about his first impressions of the city when he was just a child. That he always felt his admiration for the entrepreneurial spirit and warmth of the people of Quito, that its mayors have almost always left a deep mark such as the Sixto Durán Ballén tunnels or the Rodrigo Paz Delgado ring road, as well as the intense work of recovery of the center historical.

Quito Metro

President Guillermo Lasso, in the solemn session, pointed out that Quito must regain its brilliance and leadership, that it should once again make Luz de América and an example of municipal management, Quito must regain its dignity and its place as the capital of all Ecuadorians.

He pointed out that the former mayors Augusto Barrera and Mauricio Rodas, made the decision to put the Quito metro as the axis of the development of the city, but that work “can no longer be a white elephant under the surface and without serving the citizens, for lack of management, that is immoral ”.

He said that it is time to ask that the Quito metro immediately have its operating model as announced by the mayor, Santiago Guarderas, for that reason he affirmed that his government will support it so that it becomes operational as soon as possible.

With the promise of launching the metro in 2022, Quito celebrates 487 years of foundation

He stated that the operation model cannot be subordinated to politicians who want to make new loot with this work that is paid for by the citizens, therefore, it is vital that with the support of the multilaterals, the operation model has a single international operator that provides a dignified, efficient and transparent service.

Lasso commented that the operation of the metro will be essential to encourage the economy, to facilitate mobility, promote tourism, decongest traffic and clean the air in Quito.

On the capital’s birthday, Guillermo Lasso, announced that his government will recognize the financing necessary to complete at least 50% of the total debt of the Quito metro, which is equivalent to more than $ 150 million in addition to the $ 750 million assumed by the national government.

He said that this way fulfills the initial offer that the Ecuadorian State made to Quito and started the construction of the work.

By assuming that 50% of the total debt, Lasso said, it will allow the mayor and his councilors to have oxygenation in the budget and to prioritize other works for the city.

That his government will support the Metropolitan District and that with this economic contribution he invited Mayor Guarderas, so that he can begin the construction of the new electrical corridor that will serve to feed the metro and to link the Labrador station with Carapungo and Calderón.

He said that this electric corridor will be a great motivation to continue promoting the energy transition. That this economic contribution to the capital is made by the government because it believes in unity.

Quito expects a lot from the current administration, Lasso added, because it has the challenge of getting the city out of its worst institutional crisis, that the city urgently needs to regain its dignity and integrity, affected two years ago, than never again the destruction of public space. , no more buildings burned to destroy incriminating evidence, no more public and private property affected by vandalism. That his government will always say yes to dialogue.

Vaccination

The president took advantage of his intervention to highlight that 90% of Quito residents already have the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 85% the second dose and without counting children under five years of age, the percentage reaches the 95% of the population.

He highlighted that Quito today is among the capitals with the highest percentage of complete vaccination in the world.

That at the level of Ecuador, Lasso said, the 11,600,000 vaccinated with the two doses have already been exceeded, which is equivalent to 72% of the population over five years of age. Among them, half a million people already have the third dose or booster, he said.

He indicated that with the stock that the country has of vaccines, there will be no problems to reach 85% of those vaccinated by the end of the year, to achieve collective immunity.

He requested the support of the Metropolitan District of Quito and all the decentralized autonomous governments of Ecuador to achieve this fundamental goal in health.

Lasso, in his speech at the solemn session for the 487 years of the founding of Quito, said that the Council of the Americas reported that as of November 24, around half of the people in the region were fully vaccinated and that Ecuador exceeded the 72%, even some countries do not reach 40%.

He called on all Ecuadorian citizens to be vaccinated, which is the basis for facing the new omicron variant, which is already present in South America.

Tax law

Guillermo Lasso took advantage of the speech to refer to the validity of the Economic Development tax law that, in his opinion, will promote the reactivation of production. That the new regulations only ask for a greater contribution to three out of every hundred people, precisely those with the highest income in Ecuador.

He said that the law will alleviate the economy of the vast majority of Ecuadorian households, because it eliminates VAT for many basic necessities and also lowers the cost of cell phone plans and opens the way to double oil production with more investment; facilitates obtaining resources for the fight against child malnutrition or violence against women.

That imports will pay less tariffs and taxes when entering the country and whose direct beneficiaries will be consumers.

Lasso stressed that since he began his administration, the decentralized autonomous governments received $ 875 million for appropriations by law, and that they are paying on time to prevent the debt from continuing to grow, as well as being up to date with the VAT refund. (I)