The delegate of the Government in Extremadura, Francisco Mendoza, presented this morning in Navaconcejo together with the Secretary General of Territorial Coordination of the Ministry of Territorial Policy, Miryam Álvarez, and the subdelegate of the Government in Cáceres, José Antonio, the program The Administration near you to the mayors of the region of Vale del Jerte; a program that seeks to facilitate that the inhabitants of the smaller towns do not have to travel and can carry out the procedures of the General Administration of the State from their municipality.
In this act, Mendoza pointed out that "the Government of Spain is aware of the importance of proximity in the provision of services and procedures to strengthen cohesion and equal opportunities for citizens." In this regard, he stressed that “the Government of Spain works for all citizens, wherever they live. The citizens have to feel the Administration nearby.” The objective of the Government of Spain is, according to the delegate, "to facilitate an Administration that is more useful".
“It is a very important program that shows that rural citizens have the same rights to the same provision of services as the citizens of large cities, as well as being a decisive measure against the depopulation and settlement of the population with the same levels of quality that can be provided to citizens of large cities,” said the government delegate in relation to the plan.
Bridging the digital divide
For her part, the General Secretary of Territorial Coordination has stressed that this plan “consists of bringing together some services that the State Administration is providing, which consists of bringing the administration closer to the citizens to inform them and to help them manage the services and procedures that they have before the General Administration of the State. All administrations are modernizing their services but there is a digital divide that we have to overcome and we want citizens living in rural areas to have all the necessary resources, knowledge and information so that they can enjoy all these services on an equal footing with those living in larger cities.”
This programme, which is in its first phase of implementation, has already visited 40 localities in the region and served 684 people. In this first phase, its activity is focused on providing information on different procedures with the State Administration and digital training, for which 438 digital certificates and 129 high certificates have already been issued through this program.
The Administration near you has been promoted by the Ministry of Territorial Policy together with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation and in collaboration with the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP). Through this program, the inhabitants of small towns will receive services from the General Administration of the State in its municipalities.