Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced Tuesday that it will take more than 3,700 public works projects to repair the country after the rainy season’s devastating effects on the population, according to the presidential website.
Santos revealed that it will take more than a year to repair roads and mitigate disaster areas caused by landslides and flooding during the rainy winter.
The Colombian head of state met with 1,102 mayors and 32 governors to deliver a warning to the Corporaciones Autonomas Regionales (CAR) — a government run agency that deals with environmental policies in the region — that the country can “no longer be a political fiefdom.”
In other words, Santos called upon the CAR to step into the modern world to help with the recovery process.
“Without a modern and capable CAR, any efforts of ours will be in vain,” said the president.
Santos announced that the 3,700 public works projects will begin January 1, adding that “improving transport infrastructure” was the top priority for all local leaders.
“There are more than 3,700 works, including major and minor, that are still in process and that will be your first challenge: to complete these works that are necessary to the community,” the president told the CAR.
According to Santos, it will cost more than $6.2 billion to complete these recovery works and provide emergency relief for the entire country.
