Guadeloupe: Amélie de Montchalin praises the recovery of Pointe-à-Pitre and recalls the sanctions

The First President of the Court of Auditors, Amélie de Montchalin, traveled to Guadeloupe alongside the president of the Regional Chamber of Accounts for the Antilles and Guiana, Pierre Grimaud. She praised the turnaround in the finances of Pointe-à-Pitre. She also recalled that financial jurisdictions penalize wrongdoings.

A visit to Pointe-à-Pitre

According to Karibinfo, the magistrate spent a day in the archipelago. In the afternoon, the mayor of Pointe-à-Pitre, Harry Durimel, received her at city hall. Sub-prefect Jean-François Moniotte was present. The report from Karibinfo indicates that she highlighted the efforts made to restore the municipality's accounts. The media outlet does not detail what was said during the meeting.

Nursing homes and aging

According to RCI Guadeloupe, the visit focuses on the management of nursing homes and municipal finances. Amélie de Montchalin states that the population of the French Antilles is aging much faster than that of the mainland. She draws three questions from this: preparation, meaning staff and facility capacities, then the financing of investments, and finally the quality of management. She presents the Court of Auditors as a guarantor of equality between territories. According to her, public money is monitored there just as it is elsewhere, whether it concerns nursing homes, local authorities, water, transport, waste, or hospitals. RCI Guadeloupe specifies that she was in Martinique on Wednesday, November 4.

Recovered municipalities, penalized others

Still according to RCI Guadeloupe, the First President cites Pointe-à-Pitre and Fort-de-France. These municipalities, which were heavily indebted and close to bankruptcy, are doing better after applying the recommendations of the financial jurisdictions. She explains that the State was able to support multiannual recovery plans because discipline had been maintained. She adds that this recovery requires time and trust.

She notes two difficulties. The first is the misuse of public funds. The week prior to her remarks, elected officials in Capesterre-Belle-Eau were penalized for failing to voluntarily pay their suppliers. The second is the burden of operating expenses, which leaves too little room for investment in water, waste, transport, or high schools.

Austerity or choices

When asked about the coming years, Amélie de Montchalin replied: "The future is not synonymous with austerity, but with choices." She pointed to budgetary discussions in Paris, where the question arises of whether to dedicate resources to interest payments or to investment.