FEPECO President: Mayors of cities are hindering housing construction with bureaucracy.
The President of FEPECO accuses city mayors of hindering housing construction through bureaucratic obstacles, which leads to higher project costs and youth emigration.
FEPECO President Óscar Izquierdo is sounding the alarm: having normal housing is now one of the biggest problems in society. But often the problem is not that there are few construction companies or no people willing to buy an apartment. The main thing is a pile of papers and permits that slow down construction.
Izquierdo says that city mayors, it turns out, have become the main culprits of this red tape. Because of their work, thousands of families cannot get their housing.
In order to build a house, the city authorities must work quickly. Mayors, as the heads of the city, must ensure that the architecture department works clearly and transparently.
But, as Izquierdo says with regret, everything is not like that at all. Documents lie motionless in the offices of officials for months. Although there has long been talk about complicated rules and mountains of papers that no one can overcome. Because of this slowness, developers and people are simply desperate. In addition, projects become more expensive, apartment prices rise, and new jobs are not created.
Izquierdo asks mayors not to excuse themselves with a lack of money or complicated laws. He reminds them that they are responsible for how the city administration works, who works there and how quickly everything is done. To manage means to take everything into your own hands.
"Every day of delay means families without homes, young people leaving the city in search of a better life, and companies losing opportunities. If there is no desire to change anything, if they are afraid to sign documents or simply do not know how to work, then the whole society suffers," says the president of FEPECO.
According to Izquierdo, we need mayors who are not afraid to take responsibility, who understand that they must ensure people's right to housing. They must be able to manage the city and make officials work quickly and efficiently. "Because when a project gets stuck in the city council, it is not the law, not the developer, and not the construction company that is to blame, but the mayor who allows bureaucrats to run the city," he concludes.