EXEMPLARY LAUNCH OF NEW VENTURES

JAIME NEBOT SAADI Mayor of Guayaquil

Mayor Jaime Nebot Saadi came to office in 2000 and is a native of the city that he now governs.
A member since 1990 of the Social-Christian Party (PSC), like the former mayor and national president León Febres Cordero, Mr. Nebot took up the mantle of progress begun by his predecessor, and has committed his administration to a policy of privatization of services for the municipal area, from transportation to power supply.
At the same time, his office is concentrating on ensuring a regulatory framework for investment is in place, designed to attract international capital and offer wide-ranging guarantees in a secure environment to do business. The keystone of the administration’s success is the astounding pace and scope of urban renewal and the programs of infrastructure regeneration.

Today Guayaquil is a point of reference for the continent in terms of urban renewal. What have been the key factors of this transformation?
Even three years ago, to speak of Guayaquil as a destination city was still a Utopia for many. But after the administration of León Febres Cordero, who brought about significant and very positive changes, for me it was vital that Guayaquil become a real destination.
So we initiated the largest and most rapid process of urban renewal in Latin America, making Guayaquil into a city that today receives an enormous number of visitors from around the country and from abroad. Tourism has become one of the keys to progress.

The public works carried out are on an extraordinary scale. Where has the financing come from to pay for these projects?
It is true that the work done is incredible, not only as regards urban renewal, but across the city as a whole and especially in sectors which had the least resources available. We are working to lay new roads, light streets, and providing security, distance learning, a network of markets, food safety and health. In free healthcare alone, we deal with 150,000 disadvantaged people every month.
In terms of how we use resources, we spend 10% on costs and 90% on the work to be done, and that’s how we are really able to undertake the work we are doing. By that I mean 10% is used for general administration and labor costs, while 90% is reinvested in the community. In relation to public debt, in 2003 with a budget of US$322 million, just 0.9% was spent on interest payments on debt, meaning we have very healthy accounts.

As far as investment is concerned, and not limited to the service-provision sector, what does Guayaquil have to offer?
I would say that the principal attraction is that we have a framework of legal guarantees, in the sense that whoever works with the city knows that there is continuity in government, that contracts are upheld and that investment is subject to a very clear policy, so that in a country currently in crisis, Guayaquil continues to develop.
The Municipal Public Administration is there to facilitate investment, we are conscious that it needs to be stimulated.

In summary, what message do you have for the world about Guayaquil?
I would like to invite people to come here, because I believe Guayaquil is well worth a visit. There’s lots to see and to learn about in every field, and step by step we are putting the city into the place where it should be.We are close to the Galapagos islands and beaches like Salinas, as well as to the cities of Quito and Cuenca, so the location of Guayaquil is very good.
We already have people from all over the world here. We are bringing foreign investment to the city, and our most important asset is that the government knows what it has to do. To facilitate, to offer guarantees, to be stable, so that people know that can do business here on sure ground, without surprises.