Cerro de Pasco residents have little to no access to basic sanitary services. Its mayor asks the government to finish incomplete infrastructure projects.
For centuries, silver has been extracted from Cerro de Pasco’s rich land. Yet very little private or state investment trickles back to the abandoned city. The mayor of Cerro de Pasco, Marco de la Cruz Bustillos is asking for help to bring basic health and living services to his constituents: drinking water, drainage system, landfills, paved roads, and better health and education institutes.
Andina reports that de la Cruz Bustillos traveled to Lima to meet with the heads of the Ministry of Housing’s urban and rural sanitation programs. He states that projects tackling the lack of sanitation services have been poorly managed in the past.
Three governors have come and gone and the Drinking Water for Cerro de Pasco pipeline project bringing potable water to residents is still unfinished. The first stage of the pipeline is complete but does not work adequately. De la Cruz Bustillos brought forth evidence that shows the regional government’s incompetence at finishing the project. S/ 200 million will be invested in the second stage of the pipeline project that includes connecting the pipe to residences and installing meters at each.
De la Cruz Bustillos argues the supervision of the project should legally fall under the Ministry of Housing instead of the regional government. He also argues this would ensure the project is finished appropriately since the ministry counts on the knowledgable personnel to carry out the work.
Among the other appeals made by the mayor are: creating a new landfill; transfer of non-operative land owned by mining companies for the use of creating public schools; and the dissolution of a 2008 law that requires the re-location of the city. The re-location plan was never put into action due to no one, neither the state nor the mining industry, taking responsibility to financing it.
Source: Andina
Photo: Ottocarotto