In Higüey, La Altagracia province, the Government led a meeting yesterday, Tuesday, with the Catholic Church and community members to strengthen the dialogue and agreement process regarding the Municipal Territorial Planning Plan (PMOT) of Verón-Punta Cana.
The meeting was led by the Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza, along with Monsignor Jesús Castro Marte, as part of the actions that seek to listen to the concerns and proposals of the communities, businessmen, producers, social organizations and local authorities, in a process where the church acts as a facilitator, according to a press release from the Ministry of the Presidency.
Paliza thanked Monsignor Castro Marte for his willingness to accompany the dialogue process and valued his role since the presentation of the PMOT draft, in channeling the concerns expressed by the different sectors about the content of the document, which allowed opening a space for dialogue to move towards building consensus.
It's a working draft
During the meeting, authorities reiterated that the recently released document is a working draft, prepared as a basis for public consultation, and therefore does not constitute the final version of the PMOT (Municipal Land Use Plan). They explained that the content will be strengthened by the contributions arising from the participatory process developed with various sectors.
Paliza explained that the Verón-Punta Cana Municipal Land Use Plan is being developed within the framework of the Law on Land Use Planning, Human Settlements, and Land Use, which assigns the creation of these instruments to local governments with technical assistance from the Ministry of the Presidency. He emphasized that, given the province's emblematic status and its role as a driver of national tourism development, the government is striving to create a plan based on consensus and dialogue.
“The document presented is a draft plan that must comply with the consultation, public hearing and review process established by law,” the official stated.
He noted that the goal is to build a technically sound instrument with the support of the population to facilitate its implementation over time.
Referring to the concerns raised by residents of El Salado and La Ceiba, he assured that the Government will work alongside the communities throughout the process, under the guidance of Monsignor Jesús Castro Marte, to ensure that their concerns are heard and that decisions are made through dialogue and consensus.
The Ministry of the Presidency reaffirmed its commitment to keeping spaces for dialogue open to promote territorial planning based on consensus, technical rigor, citizen participation and respect for the legal framework.
The meeting was attended by the Deputy Minister of Territorial Planning and Regional Development, Domingo Matías; the merchants Santos Mercedes and Enmanuel Valdez; the lawyers Norberto Amador and Mario Chevalier; Uridy Martes, president of the Verón-Punta Cana Development Council; as well as Marcelo Cabrera and Dionicio de Jesús.
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