Wallonia is launching a five-week public consultation planned as part of its Get up Wallonia recovery plan to allow each citizen to put forward his or her own proposals for the post-covid period.
People can contribute via this platform or by completing a questionnaire available in the municipal administrations and in the so-called Espaces Wallonie.
This consultation process will make it possible to lay the foundations for the sustainable recovery of the Region as quickly as possible, explained Walloon Minister-President Elio Di Rupo.
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The situation is complicated, Di Rupo said, "and risks getting even worse in the coming months with the bankruptcies that are announced and massive job losses.”
In this context, "there is an urgent need to raise consciousness, tell the truth to the citizens, get out of criticism and have a start from all the living forces" called to take a stand on the future of Wallonia, he continued.
"We realise that it is very difficult to come up with proposals for a break with the past,” admitted Di Rupo, who wants the Walloons’ help to "get off the beaten track.”
The data collected up to 21 December will be the subject of a double analysis, aiming on the one hand at prioritising the themes and proposals of the citizens and, on the other hand, at updating the consensus and dissension between these different proposals.
All contributions, treated on an equal footing, will be integrated into the process. They will not be interpreted or modified. A summary will then be sent to the government, which expects the first measures to be implemented in March or “early April if we are a little late,” according to Di Rupo.
A communication campaign will also accompany the launch of the public consultation. "We are going to try to explain, to convince, to be transparent towards the citizens. But it is up to everyone to seize the opportunity of this unprecedented process," he concluded.
The Brussels Times
