ZAMBOANGA CITY (Uly Israel / 16 Nov) - The creation of Metro Zamboanga will accelerate economic development, expand and democratize leadership base and unleash the full potentials of the city's rich endowed resources, the president of the Western Mindanao State University said.
Dr Eldigario D. Gonzales said the lack of development in many villages in Zamboanga can be corrected by adopting new development program similar to other areas in the country, like Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao.
"Smaller units are easier to handle and this is successfully practiced in the corporate world and also true in the political sphere," Gonzales told the Mindanao Examiner.
A study by the Peace Equity Access Foundation for Community Empowerment Foundation (PEF) Inc. showed that 33 of the Zamboanga City's 98 villages have been identified as priority areas for poverty reduction program.
They are listed as priority areas based on existing official data of economic indicators such as income, health, and other socio-economic indicators.The priority villages are distributed in seven out of 13 districts. In these 33 villages, the total population is about 85,000, roughly 14% of the local population.
In terms of magnitude, 25% are found in Labuan district. The most served villages by the city government are those centrally located near downtown area, while in the outskirts, poverty situation requires urgent intervention policies and programs.
"To retain the eminence and the grandeur of the city, we should create the Metro Zamboanga Development Authority patterned after the successful MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority)," Gonzales said."It would not be surprising if the incumbent administration will oppose the plan for other reasons, but the development of the city should be held supreme over and above personal interests."
Gonzales said there is a brighter future for the city, especially for the less developed villages if three more cities and new municipalities will be formed.He said there is a need to create the Metro Zamboanga Development Authority.
"Creating new local government units becomes an imperative option considering the need for infrastructures and the delivery of basic services to meet the needs of the growing population. Furthermore, in the immediate term, we will see the empowerment of local leaders, democratization of political power base, the unleashing of new managerial talents and the greater involvement and participation of the people."
"In the long term, we will witness the transformation of the city's bureaucracy into dynamic and highly productive machinery ushering in growth and prosperity on a grand scale. We cannot simply ignore an idea whose time has come," he said.
Gonzales holds a doctorate in Public Administration from the University of the Philippines and attended further studies from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. (Mindanao Examiner)
1 comment:
This is exciting development of Mindanao
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