Mayor of one of Colombia’s poorest towns ‘gives away salary to curb misery’
Mayor of one of Colombia’s poorest towns ‘gives away salary to curb misery’
Mar 2, 2015 posted by Rebecca Florey
A frustrated mayor of one the poorest towns in Colombia has reportedly become tired of begging for a budget from the national government and has taken to giving away his own salary to support the citizens.
In an attempt to affect some change in the town, the mayor has become the benefactor of the people. Mayor Jose Isabelino Becerra uses his $1,080 salary to support the rest of the town, often giving away most of it to the poor and unemployed. He often ends up earning only $280 after offering support to the town.
Rio Quito is a small town in the western department of Choco. It currently has no running water, no phone lines and no paved roads. The unemployment rate is currently at least 60%.
A major problem for the town is the lack of clean and fresh water. There are currently no running sources of water so all the residents have to bathe and cook using water from the river which has been polluted with mercury from the nearby mining projects.
More:
http://colombiareports.co/mayor-poorest-town-gives-away-salary-curb-poverty-among-citizens/
