Promoting a culture of legality in Merida

MÉRIDA, Yucatan, April 7, 2023.- With the objective of continuing to promote a model of open government, adhering to legality and transparency in Merida, the City Council headed by Renán Barrera Concha held the IV Ordinary Session of the “Municipal Anti-Corruption Council” to follow up on and comply with the recommendations and audits made to the municipal administration.

Through a meeting held in virtual format, the V Ordinary Session had as its main axis to examine the agreements and the work that has been done since its last meeting, in which the most relevant issues in terms of administrative progress were analyzed and discussed.

During the session, it was highlighted the punctual and timely follow-up that the Municipal Comptroller’s Office gave to the recommendations issued by the Council, which shows the commitment and willingness to comply with what the citizens have requested.

Martha Elena Gómez Nechar, Comptroller of the City Council, pointed out the importance of having clear complaint processes; she also mentioned the benefits of having citizen participation mechanisms in which citizens are involved in the oversight of City Council processes such as public works and procurement.

“These committees exist to monitor the correct application of public resources. Each work has a citizen committee, formed by the beneficiaries of the works in question. They oversee that it is being carried out during the process that lasts for the duration of the actions. It is not permanent, because the work ends and is dissolved,” she said.

The official indicated that, through these social comptroller committees, not only citizens’ points of view are expressed, but also doubts about the works to be carried out are solved.

He reminded that, in order to promote their transparency, they can be consulted in the geoportal of the City Hall of Merida, through the web page https://geoportal.merida.gob.mx.

During his participation, he also reaffirmed the commitment to continue training public servants in ethics, integrity and quality in public service and to continue with the work of preventing, detecting and punishing corruption.

Pablo Loría Vázquez, head of the Transparency Unit of the Mérida City Hall, spoke about the actions of Open Government and its progress in the city, presenting the participation tool that today is collecting the opinion of citizens regarding the needs of the Municipality.

“We invite all the citizens of Mérida to come and participate, we have initiated an open government consultation. Citizen participation is indispensable and is part of what the Mayor has instructed us through this consultation,” he emphasized.

The “Public Consultation to Detect Social Problems in Merida’s First Open Government Exercise” has been open since April 27th and will remain online until May 12th. This survey is divided into different zones of the city, so that everyone can express their ideas. To participate, all that is required is to enter the site www.inaipyucatan.org.mx.

Loría Vázquez recalled that an open government is characterized by looking for problems within the city and trying to find solutions among everyone. For this reason, he also indicated that Merida has the first Secretariat of Citizen Participation at a national level, to guarantee a democratic municipal government.

Finally, he pointed out that these meetings are part of the actions that reiterate Mayor Renán Barrera’s commitment to promote a culture of legality, transparency and accountability in the exercise of public office.

TYT Newsroom