Peruvian President's Address to the Nation: Here are key announcements from his speech

10:44 | Lima, Sep. 7.

The President of the Republic Pedro Castillo has announced the payment of the Yanapay Peru grant starting September 13 and the inclusion of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the Fuel Price Stabilization Fund, among other things, in his first Address to the Nation on Monday evening.

These are the key announcements from his speech:

Yanapay Peru grant

The Yanapay (Help) Peru grant of S/350 (about US$85) —aimed at 13 million Peruvians in situation of vulnerability— will be paid starting September 13.

This payment implies an injection of S/5 billion (about US$1.22 billion) into the national economy and, therefore, around 40,000 direct and indirect jobs are expected to be created.

LPG in Fuel Price Stabilization Fund

The Head of State also announced the inclusion of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the Fuel Price Stabilization Fund, in order to lower the gas price.

Temporary employment

In addition, the top official announced the transfer of more than S/298 million (about US$72.5 million) to the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion to fund the creation of temporary jobs through the Trabaja Peru (Work, Peru) program.

The abovementioned measure is intended to create 260,000 jobs throughout the country.

Public investment

The Peruvian leader announced plans to speed up 52 investment projects that entail an investment of S/114 billion (about US$27.7 billion) in order to contribute to the country's economic revival. Such projects are mainly in the areas of health and education.

He went on to say that a public investment package will be initiated this week to revive projects underway of up to S/1 billion (about US$243.6 million), of which S/400 million (about US$97.4 million) is expected to be executed until December.

COVID-19 vaccines and pandemic

Moreover, the President noted that more than 12 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are scheduled to arrive in September, and this is expected to help achieve the goal of inoculating 50% of the target population with two doses.

He also announced that a Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine production plant will be installed in Peru, which has been coordinated as a result of the negotiations between the Governments of Peru and Russia.

Furthermore, he explained that the Government has decided to allocate an additional S/2.89 billion (about US$795.3 million) for the implementation of a plan to face the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such resources will serve to finance cross-cutting and specific initiatives.

Mr. Castillo also reported that 23 additional oxygen plants have been set up at health centers, reaching a total of 336.

(END) FHG/VVS/RMB/MVB

Publicado: 7/9/2021