Within the framework of the 6.5% increase in the 2024 budget for regional governments; The National Regional Development Fund (FNDR) of the Ñuble Region is one of those that grew the most in percentage terms in the country, recording 19% more than in 2023, when it reached $64,810,493 million.
$77,140,691 million is the investment proposed in the 2024 Budget bill for the youngest territory in the country, while for operating expenses, $5,114,041 million were allocated, 18.7% more than for 2023, when $4,307 million were awarded. All this, of course, is the proposal of the Executive, and must be approved by the national congress.
The governor of Ñuble, Óscar Crisóstomo, said that “we have good news in terms of the budget increase that our region is going to have, it will be close to 77 billion pesos, more than a 19% increase, but this is due to different variables that are related to indicators of lag, poverty, also polynomials that imply a greater effort that the central State makes with the Ñuble Region, and that comes to compensate for the deficit that our region has.”
Despite this good news for Ñuble, the authority warned that “just as it is important to increase the budget, it is also important to have the possibility of spending it in a timely manner, and in that I believe there is a risk, because currently the Budget Law is a restrictive law. , which will not allow the resources assigned to us to be executed in a good manner and promptly, therefore, I hope that during the processing of the 2024 Budget project within Congress, this aspect can be improved, and that the regions of the country can execute. Just as we have to increase controls, we also have to increase the possibility of execution, which means not having large budgets without having the option of spending said resources,” he expressed.
Crisóstomo exemplified with the case of a project approved by the Regional Council that benefits the Ñuble Fire Department, for the acquisition of tank trucks or vehicles to transport fuel, elements that allow the institution to better deal with fires. However, resources are held up due to a delay in the process at the central level.
Questions about the budget
Although the amount assigned to Ñuble is within what was expected, other regions such as Valparaíso and Biobío received their resources for 2024 with concern ($101 billion and $111 billion, respectively). What’s more, some are warning that the contributions that the territories will receive under the Royalty law “decreased” the FNDR’s figures.
Also latent is the request from public officials of Ñuble regarding completing the installation, improving the equipment and infrastructure.
Although operating expenses increased by more than $1,000 million by 2024, according to the head of the RN caucus of deputies and representative of Ñuble, Frank Sauerbaum, “the only special mentions towards Ñuble in the Budget bill are the $77 one billion from the FNDR; capital transfers to Serviu Ñuble programs, and resources for the Ñuble Health Service.”
Among some regional councilors of Ñuble, there are also resentments.
“The truth is that I am worried about the 2024 budget, $77 billion sounds a lot, but if we look at this year’s execution, as of August it is only 42.4%, which leaves us second to last at the national level. And on top of that, investment in services and transfers is the strong one, with 42.2%, and investment in gross infrastructure, which are concrete elements of long-term social stability and job creation, is only 21.4%.” , said the independent regional councilor, Cristian Quilodrán.
According to the Democratic advisor, Alberto Jarpa, “to the $77 billion of FNDR, we must add the more than $5 billion that will come from the mining royalty. We expected more resources to level positions in different services, the Dipres gave the regional government seven professional positions – despite the fact that they had requested 24 -, which is insufficient to face the challenges we have, “he stated.
He added that “we hope that during the discussion in parliament, Anef’s demands to complete the missing payrolls of officials will be accepted. We will demand it, since it is something that goes hand in hand with the growth that is requested of the different services,” mentioned the president of the Budget Commission of the Regional Council, who revealed that the projects that must be prioritized are those “that They provide employment, therefore, our portfolio, which exceeds $80 billion in works, we hope will be executed,” he stated.
From the province of Itata, the ind.-Evópoli councilor, Eduardo Redlich, stated that “looking at the glass half full, the 2024 budget is more than $12 billion above what we budgeted last year. I believe that also, within the margins that the Central Government maintained in the delivery of resources, it keeps us with a high growth rate in relation to other regions. That, perhaps, is also related to the good budget execution of the previous year,” he asserted.
He recalled that this year, “important things are coming, especially the planning that we are carrying out in the health area at the regional level, with certain planning until 2028 in programming of facilities, and obviously I believe that the significant increase in the budget is focused on this need. Even so, we are always left with the bitter taste of having our budget reported at the central level cut, which is what we needed as a region ($100 billion was requested). Now, our regional government, together with the council, are hopeful that our budget deficit that we have been running during this year 2023 can benefit during the last months of the year that are already approaching. We hope, together with the Executive and the division heads, to be able to match the budget execution of the previous year, when we reached almost 100%. Hopefully next year we will also see more infrastructure, which is what obviously projects greater spending and obviously also indicates greater development of the territories,” he stated.
