Gran Tierra Energy delivers two more Tax Works projects

Investing more than COP$ 2,000 million to improve food security and school assistance in the PDET municipalities of Puerto Caicedo and Orito, Putumayo

• Through this mechanism, Gran Tierra delivered two more projects to provide greater food security to students through the purchase of kitchen equipment and furniture for cafeterias for 152 schools in the PDET municipalities of Puerto Caicedo and Orito.
• More than 12,000 students and teachers will benefit from these two projects.
• Since 2020, Gran Tierra Energy has invested more than $10,000 million pesos in the PDET municipalities of Putumayo. The projects include the installation of sanitary units for rural families and infrastructure improvements in local schools and rural roads.

Puerto Caicedo (Putumayo), August 19, 2021. As part of the implementation of the Territorial Development Programs –PDET, Gran Tierra Energy delivered two additional projects through the PDET Works by Taxes mechanism in the municipalities of Puerto Caicedo and Orito, Putumayo. The company provided kitchen equipment, including refrigerators, freezers, and ovens, as well as tables and chairs for 152 school cafeterias.

Puerto Caicedo (Putumayo), August 19, 2021. As part of the implementation of the Territorial Development Programs –PDET, Gran Tierra Energy delivered two additional projects through the PDET Works by Taxes mechanism in the municipalities of Puerto Caicedo and Orito, Putumayo. The company provided kitchen equipment, including refrigerators, freezers, and ovens, as well as tables and chairs for 152 school cafeterias.

These projects will benefit 12,163 children and young people in these 2 municipalities in the south of the country with improvements in the provision of school feeding services; assistance in the preparation and distribution of food supplements during school days or rations to prepare at home.

“Thank you Gran Tierra Energy for believing in the PDET and fulfilling this project that the communities requested in their initiatives. I am glad to be here because we continue in the implementation of the Peace with Legality policy, it is worth noting that none of this is achieved without the coordination and ongoing work of all our allies, and we must highlight Gran Tierra Energy's willingness to comply with the PDET through the PDET Works by Taxes mechanism. We are fulfilling and will continue to work to make this an irreversible process,» said the Director of the Agency for the Renewal of the Territory, Juan Carlos Zambrano Arciniegas, during the event, which took place in Puerto Caicedo.

With these two projects providing equipment to the institutions and educational centers of Putumayo, it contributes to the retention and prevention of school dropout, and improves the food and nutritional situation of the students. Principals and teachers believe there is a strong connection between a student's development and food security.

In this regard, the Director of Strengthening Territorial Management of the Ministry of Education, Javier Medina, stated that “being able to include and link companies to join these initiatives in geographically distant municipalities or those that have historically been affected by the conflict has a very special meaning, as it allows us to all be on the same side and focus on the same goal: the development and growth of our children and young people.”.

Since 2020, Gran Tierra Energy has invested more than $10,000 million pesos in the PDET municipalities of Putumayo. The projects include the installation of sanitary units for rural families and infrastructure improvements in local schools and rural roads.

«Gran Tierra Energy will continue to support the National Government's stabilization agenda and continues to work to improve the quality of life of the communities neighboring our operations, providing job opportunities, supporting entrepreneurs, and through mechanisms such as Obras por Impuestos PDET, which establish and cultivate sustainable futures. Only with these two projects will 65 schools and 2,581 people in Puerto Caicedo and 87 schools and 9,582 people in Orito benefit,” said Manuel Buitrago, president and country manager of Gran Tierra Energy.

The company is fully committed to supporting the peace consolidation efforts led by the Government of Colombia in the regions most affected by the conflict. In Putumayo specifically, Gran Tierra supports initiatives led by the Presidential Council for Stabilization and Normalization and its agencies, such as the Land Renewal Agency (ART) and the Reintegration and Normalization Agency (ARN) and will continue to support initiatives that build a better future for local communities.

Works for Taxes PDET

It is a mechanism through which entrepreneurs and individuals, income tax contributors, can design and execute projects to improve the living conditions of communities in the municipalities most affected by poverty and violence in Colombia.

Taxpayers who invest in areas affected by violence have the opportunity to carry out socially impactful works, actively participating in the transformation of the regions that require their commitment as participants in their development, advancing their social responsibility policies, and strengthening trust ties with the communities where they operate.

Likewise, these works stimulate investment in the territories, energize the economy, and enhance the region. With this, they become key players contributing directly to peacebuilding. Through this mechanism, 77 projects have been developed with a total investment of $613 billion to stabilize the PDET municipalities.