Rodolfo Downing, a presidential delegate in Cañas, approached Minister Rodrigo Arias to shake his hand warmly.
“In my 50 years in politics I don’t remember ever attending a lock up meeting like this one,” said the white haired gentleman with the heartfelt grin.
Friday’s encerrona, or lock-up meeting which brought together many of President Óscar Arias’ cabinet, including the Minister of the Presidency Rodrigo Arias, the Ministers of Tourism, Public Works and Transport, Health, Housing, and Security reflected a clear message from the central government.
Guanacaste, a not-so-long-ago forgotten province known for its high levels of poverty and technological backwardness, is now the Arias administration’s darling.
Hanging on Guanacaste’s broad plains is Oscar Arias’ ability to transform a country that has been falling behind in the last decade in world lists that once applauded it for its advanced education and health policies, and whose economic and political stability make it the “Switzerland” of Latin America.
At the start of his term, Dr Arias said that to pull the country out of its stupor, 600,000 new jobs had to be created and that could only happen if the investment in tourism paid off.
And last week in a hotel on the outskirts of Liberia, the Government made it clear Guanacaste is synonymous with tourism.
“With this meeting we are doing something simple but very important for the province of Guanacaste, so that the benefits and the opportunities of the commercial openings that we are working on can reach the live forces of the area,” said Rodrigo Arias Minister of the Presidency, and Óscar Arias’ brother.
“We wanted to revise government actions to take advantage of opportunities --- more infrastructure, a greater focus on education.
“We want to give priority to these issues,” Mr Arias said. “If we make an effort, it has to be parallel to social growth. All that boom has to translate into less poverty.”
But what they really wanted to do was a gathering of the clan. To bring together all the mayors of the province, to find common problems and try to develop some common solutions. On paper at least, there is some hope.
There are 11 mayors. Ten of them are Partido Liberación Nacional, or PLN. Just like the central government.
“Ten of the 11 Liberación mayors are here,” said Juan Marín Quiros, Mayor of Hojancha.
“What I ask for is political will,” he said, as if echoing what might be achieved.
He spoke of regulatory plans, the documents that dictate how a cantón can be developed.
“If there aren’t any regulatory plans, we won’t be able to generate income,” he said. “And yet we’ve had a regulatory plan in INVU (the Institute of Housing and Urban Development) for three years.
“We’ve spent 30 million colones (about $58,000) and INVU and SETENA won’t resolve anything. We can’t even get to the stage of a public audience.”
Regulatory plans, particularly along the Pacific coast, particularly in the rapidly developing beachfront towns, have become popular these days. Perhaps because they are so rare.
“I am looking for planning that orders the accelerated tourism development in the region,” said the Minister of Tourism, Carlos Ricardo Benavides, in a press release after the lock-up.
“Just in the last month the increment in construction permits was at 108 per cent,” he said. “Most of them respond to tourism and high-end housing projects.
“This year we plan to elaborate three plans in the sectors of San Miguel Coyote, Playa Hermosa Bahía Azul and Avellanas-Junquillal.”
The meeting heard the ICT has forged a strategic alliance with the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT), whereby they will spend 300 million colones (about $580,000) on a signage campaign.
The campaign is designed to guide visitors to the most popular tourist areas in Guanacaste. They will spend an additional 25 million colones ($48,000) on beach signs warning of potential dangers in Naranjo, Hermosa, Conchal, Flamingo, Grande, Tamarindo, Samara, Carrillo and within Lake Arenal.
The Minister of Transport, Karla González, told the mayors there would be a tender in place to build a $13 million terminal at Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia.
The terminal would operate under a concession.
“Any public works concession is slow,” Ms González conceded. “We’re trying to come out with the most simplified tender.
“At least five companies have expressed interest,” she added. “We will have pre-offer meetings at the end of March in the General Secretariat of the Ministry.”
“We have police stations under construction,” said Fernando Berrocal, the Minister of Public Security. “We have achieved this with ICT funds put aside with the Association of Concessionaires of Papagayo.
“We are doing three delegations. One will be at the entrance to the airport, another in Playa Panamá and one north of Papagayo. There will be a better police presence.
“This has to be a joint effort between municipalities and private developers,” Mr Berrocal said.
“There’s no reason why we can’t do the same we’ve done with Papagayo in Tamarindo or Sámara. This is the only way we can make a dent in the security problem.”
(Originally published by The Beach Times)
