Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Dispute over the use of Fonatel's resources continues

The health and economic crisis triggered by Covid-19 originated a political and institutional dispute over the case of the National Telecommunications Fund. Among other effects, it led to the resignation of the Minister of Science, Technology and Telecommunications Luis Adrián Salazar. Their effectiveness in alleviating the digital divide was also questioned.

In the last days, 13 legislators belonging to different political parties presented a bill to the Legislative Assembly to allocate the funds from the National Telecommunications Fund to create a Local Socioeconomic Development Council, which would be financed along with other public resources. The initiative comes after deep questions about the use of Fonatel, both in the pre-pandemic and in response to the Covid-19 emergency. The controversy marked the last weeks of the ICT sector in Costa Rica, and even led to the resignation of the Minister of Science, Technology and Telecommunications Luis Adrián Salazar.

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