Azorean participation makes Participatory Budget a “success story,” says Vasco Cordeiro
The President of the Government reassured today that the Participatory Budget of the Azores is already a “success story” due to the growing participation of Azorean citizens, announced that the increase of funds allocated next year for the projects approved under this participation mechanism.
“The Participatory Budget of the Azores is a success story as evidenced by several indicators, starting with the number of proposals submitted. In 2019, we already surpassed 550 proposals, when the proposals submitted in 2018 had been around 320,” said Vasco Cordeiro.
The President of the Government spoke in Ponta Delgada at the presentation session of the 39 winning project in 2019. On the occasion, he stated that the number of proposals put to vote almost doubled compared to the previous year, and there was also a significant increase in the number of proposals, number of voters on all islands and regional-based projects.
“Just to get an idea, about one percent of the population voted in the national Participatory Budget and, in the case of the Region, we are talking about four percent of the population that voted in the Participatory Budget of the Azores 2019,” said Vasco Cordeiro.
After noting that the Participatory Budget of the Azores will reach an implementation rate above 80 percent for the 2018 projects by the end of this year, the President of the Government announced that, next year, the amount allocated for this measure will increase as well as the areas for the submission of proposals.
Moreover, the Government has decided to increase the budget for the Participatory Budget of the Azores 2019 by about 200 thousand Euros, so that more proposals among the most voted by Azorean citizens may be implemented on each island.
“Therefore, we reaffirm our commitment to this model of participation, which, besides its direct and immediate effects, has a longer-term effect of arousing interest in public affairs and control over how tax money is spent,” said the government official.
In his speech, the President of the Government emphasised that the Participatory Budget is a tool intended to reinforce Autonomy and Democracy, but stressed that it is not implemented in opposition to the Regional Budget, approved by the Legislative Assembly.
“Both are manifestations of Democracy and our Autonomy. In the case of the Participatory Budget, this is achieved through direct democracy, and in the case of the Regional Budget, through representative democracy,” noted considered Vasco Cordeiro.
The 39 winning proposals of 2019 - 10 more compared to 2018 - fall into the following thematic areas: Tourism, with two projects; Environment, with four projects; Culture, with seven projects; Social Inclusion, with eight projects; Youth, with 18 projects divided by the areas of Citizenship (13) and Health Living (five).
As for island-based projects, there were 35 winning proposals. Among them, two were from Graciosa, three from Santa Maria, three from São Jorge, three from Faial, three from Flores, four from Pico, four from Corvo, six from São Miguel and seven from Terceira.
Regarding regional-based projects, there were four winning proposals: two in the area of Culture, one in Social Inclusion and one in Youth - area of Citizenship.