XXIII Asamblea Ordinaria Asociación de Municipios de Honduras (AMHON)

The main objective of the assembly was to promote the decentralization process of the state. Luis Belzus de los Ríos, the Spanish ambassador to Honduras, commented on the achievements of the work done with the municipalities through the Agencia Española Cooperación Internacional Para el Desarrollo (AECID). He was also named "ALCALDE HONORARIO" of the AMHON for his work in favor of the municipalities and the AMHON. The Secretary of State in the Despachos del Interior y Población, ÁFRICO MADRID HART, expressed his commitment to work with the 298 municipalities without political sectarianism. He emphasized the importance of fulfilling the law to ensure that municipal transfers are paid and deposited into each municipality's account. The President of the Republic, Licenciado PORFIRIO LOBO SOSA, stated that he would transfer 25% of the recovery of exemptions to local governments, concretize an agreement with the Cortés municipality and the Central Government for the management of the customs office, and provide support from the Fideicomiso to ensure that each municipality that presents a liquidation makes its payment effective. The assembly resulted in several agreements and resolutions. The first agreement emphasized the importance of fulfilling Article 91 of the Ley de Municipalidades, which relates to the punctual and complete payment of the transfer in 2013 and the balance of the previous year, 2012. The second agreement focused on the implementation of the policy of decentralization of the state for development through a minimum plan of decentralization in 2013, 2014, and the elaboration of the national plan 2013-2024 in compliance with 40% of the public investment to be decentralized in the national plan vision of the country. The assembly also approved the creation of the Instituto Desarrollo Municipal in compliance with Article 105 of the Ley de Municipalidades. Additionally, it emphasized the importance of strengthening the process of generating local policies in the aspects of security and citizen convivencia for the promotion of a culture of peace. The assembly also approved the implementation of the process of transition and transfer of the outgoing corporation to the incoming municipal corporation in compliance with Article 67 of the Ley de Municipalidades. The assembly resulted in several resolutions, including the Marco legal para la Descentralización de licenciamientos Ambientales and the Congreso Nacional Ratifica Ley de Amnistía Tributaria Municipal. The resolution related to the Marco legal para la Descentralización de licenciamientos Ambientales emphasized the importance of decentralizing the environmental licensing process. The resolution related to the Congreso Nacional Ratifica Ley de Amnistía Tributaria Municipal emphasized the importance of ratifying the law of amnesty for municipal taxes. The assembly also emphasized the importance of following up on the municipal transfers. According to the Secretaría de Finanzas, the amount of L. 2,061,549,982.97 had been paid to the 298 municipalities as of May 8, 2013. However, the Asociación de Municipios de Honduras (AMHON) and the XXIII Asamblea General Ordinaria requested an adjustment of the transfer of L. 722 million. The assembly also emphasized the importance of implementing the process of transition and transfer of the outgoing corporation to the incoming municipal corporation in compliance with Article 67 of the Ley de Municipalidades. The assembly resulted in several agreements and resolutions that emphasized the importance of decentralization, the implementation of the policy of decentralization of the state for development, and the creation of the Instituto Desarrollo Municipal. The assembly also emphasized the importance of following up on the municipal transfers and implementing the process of transition and transfer of the outgoing corporation to the incoming municipal corporation.