The bill through which it is intended to convert the district of Cóbano into a new canton is strengthened by the commercial growth that some tourist areas of this Pacific destination are experiencing. Points like Santa Teresa grow exponentially; In addition, the number of businesses that build their facilities and, subsequently, process the operating patents has increased.
Data from the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) indicate that there are more than 18,000 people assigned to the health areas of Cóbano, well above the data handled by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC), which is close to the 9,700 inhabitants. Additionally, the budget of the Municipality of Cóbano grew from ¢600 million to ¢1,800 million from 2010 to 2020.
The Federated College of Engineers and Architects (CFIA) also reports an increase in the number of meters built for commercial and residential projects in the area. The figures that demonstrate this growth are now one of the main justifications for those who support the idea to try to make it a reality.
On May 12th, 2022, a group of deputies presented a bill called Creation of the Cóbano canton (23.109). The initiative has the support of 21 legislators from all factions.
Remoteness with Puntarenas affects the administration and citizens
One of the justifications found in the bill is the distance between Cóbano and the rest of the Central canton of Puntarenas. The text indicates that the Central canton is located 70 kilometers away if you take a ferry. By land, through Guanacaste, means more than 230 kilometers. That is the distance that the inhabitants of Cóbano have to travel to do some paperwork due to the lack of services in the district and because everything is concentrated in the Central canton. “This geographical remoteness has resulted in a detachment and ignorance on the part of the respective municipal authorities about the social and economic realities that the population of the district lives, affecting access to public services and directly impacting the quality of life of its residents. inhabitants and, therefore, their development”, says project 23,109.
“The Administration has the necessary resources to operate”
In an interview with El Observador, the mayor of Cóbano, FavioLópez, said he was in favor of the initiative. The intendancy functions as a kind of local municipality and they are created precisely when there are territories far from the central administration. This administers the taxes of the same district and offers its own services, such as garbage collection and the execution of public works. It has a Municipal District Council made up of a mayor, a president, proprietary councilors and substitutes, who are elected positions.
Despite this administrative independence, some matters continue to depend on the “mother” municipality, that of Puntarenas. “Currently, the Municipality has the necessary resources to operate. The taxes that are collected in Cóbano stay in Cóbano”, López said. “The problem that the Administration faces is that the budgets do not go directly to the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) for their approval, they must first go through Puntarenas and then go to the CGR. That means a huge delay in the approval of resources to finance the different programs and projects”, he said. “On several occasions the GCR has not approved the budgets of Cóbano due to errors in Puntarenas”, claimed the mayor.
Paquera Ferry serves as communication between Cóbano and Puntarenas Centro “to strengthen local development”
The representative of the New Republic Party, David Segura, from the province of Puntarenas, was one of the proponents of the bill that is advancing in the Puntarenas Commission. He also told El Observador that there are bills to create cantons in the districts of Paquera and Lepanto, which are neighbors of Cóbano and are equally far from the Central canton.
“Cóbano, Paquera and Lepanto must and deserve to become a canton to strengthen local development and improve the quality of life of their inhabitants”, he commented. “Today the population of these places, far from their administrative center, which is the Central canton of Puntarenas, have a hard time carrying out procedures and procedures that continue to be carried out in the canton to which they belong”, he added.
The new canton would belong to the province of Puntarenas
The bill states that the new canton would continue to belong to the province of Puntarenas. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) told this medium that its work is limited to making sure that the correct limits are established, in order to be clear when establishing the electoral rolls.
On the other hand, the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy (Mideplan) issued a report in June 2022 stating that it is a necessary requirement for the process to have the formal criteria of the National Commission for Territorial and Administrative Division and others. technical studies before approving the creation of new cantons. The objective, said the Mideplan, is “to determine whether or not there is the possibility of securing a budget to consolidate the new municipality, as well as ensure its financial sustainability over time”, he said.
The bill for the creation of the canton of Cóbano recognizes that population could be needed to complete 1% of the national total for the creation of a new canton. However, it considers that the exception related to the fact that the distance from its administrative center affects the development of the community can be applied.
