The Legislature of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires approved the creation of the Institute of Statistics and Censuses of the City of Buenos Aires (IDECBA). This initiative arose from the project sent by the head of the Buenos Aires Government, Jorge Macri.
“A fundamental step towards the institutional strengthening of the City Statistical System,” said the head of Government. Management maintains that the Institute implies a leap in quality, a necessary update with respect to international regulations, requirements and demands, thus modernizing the legal regime. Furthermore, the autarky of the organization that is created from the General Directorate of Statistics and Censuses of the GCBA (DGESYC), promotes greater independence from political power.
To date, the City’s statistical body was governed by a regulatory framework that dated back to 1979. This step prioritizes the missions and functions of the body and provides a modern and solid legal framework for the City Statistical System (SEC). ).
The recent creation of the IDECBA will highlight the work of the organization by guaranteeing quality official statistics for making informed decisions that impact better public policies for the people of Buenos Aires.
As has been highlighted during the debate in the Legislature, one of the strengths of this creation is that it does not imply a greater expenditure of public spending, in fact it represents a saving of 0.8% of the budget.
In turn, those who worked on the bill highlighted that it leaves the City as a national and international benchmark in terms of statistical excellence, since it addresses recommendations from international organizations by raising the rank and prioritizing the function of the statistical body.
For José María Donati, who was in charge of the City’s statistics for 16 years, the sanction of the project “is a dream come true that highlights many years of effort to achieve reliable, serious, quality statistics that, above all things, have “a strict adherence to scientific and methodological rigor.” And he remembers the role that the City’s statistics played in difficult times: “When the national governing body, INDEC, lost credibility and suffered manipulations, that had very harsh consequences for the entire statistical system, however the City had all the support and collaboration to sustain and deepen the statistical task from the truth, which should be the aspirational objective of any government,” he highlighted.
For its part, Maria Eugenia Lago, current director of the organization, highlighted the professionalism of the technical teams that make up the DGESYC and highlighted the unwavering commitment to official statistics; necessary to change society.
“Statistics and censuses know that everything they do is by and for the residents of the City. We are at the service of the men and women of Buenos Aires. For us it is a great ethical commitment, an obligation,” says Lago.
Both Donati and Lago highlighted the role of legislators in the process of improving and reaching this final result. In particular, to the deputy Natalia Fidel, who completed her mandate, who presented the first precedent to convert the organization into Law; to deputy Claudio Romero; to Deputy Hernán Reyes and Deputy Paola Michielotto, for their contributions and for supporting and defending the conviction of moving forward with the project.
The main functions of the organization will be: to prepare the Multiannual Statistical Plan of CABA and carry out its monitoring, prepare and coordinate the implementation of statistical projects, and plan, program, articulate and approve the implementation of all the activities that fall within the statistical process.
Source: Ambito
