Roberto Zoch, the young entrepreneur now leading San José’s top ranked municipal government, was recently profiled in Costa Rica’s EKA business magazine.

Moravia is a county north of downtown San José; its county seat is San Vicente. Its municipal government website is very user friendly with pages listing recycling routes, park clean-up dates, and other useful information for residents.

The 30-year-old Zoch says of himself, “I am an entrepreneurial person, who has a lot of potential to serve the people. I consider myself more a public servant than a mayor.”

“I like to see how everything is developed, from a practical standpoint. I observe how the pipes are, the parks, and which ones need to be cleaned. I greet the workers who are on their routes, and that’s good because they realize that the mayor is not sitting at a desk all day.”

Before becoming mayor of Moravia, Zoch had his own company, a Spanish franchise selling technology accessories. A year after he acquired the franchise, he decided to run as mayor, and had to put aside his business.

“Being an entrepreneur is something I can do at any time in my life; but there will not always be an opportunity to be mayor, and I think that as a young person, you can give more,” he says.

Zoch has served on the Moravia municipal council for 10 years. During that time he carried out several projects. As mayor,  Zoch has continued to make important progress in the municipality.

For starters, he led the acquisition of a 1,000 m2 lot in the center of Moravia for the construction of a new municipal building, as the current installations in a historic building are cramped and outdated.

He also directed a C70 million investment in the public works facility, which previously did not have bathrooms, showers, a lunch room, or space for workers to store their belongings. He also led to reform of the municipal police force with the purchase of better materials, new motorcycles, and development of a system of routes for police patrols.

A C200 million investment in parks, sidewalks and streets has brought better lighting and public recreational options. Last December, the county held its first Christmas festival which over 7,000 people attended. The municipality is working on plans to continue to offer entertainment in the parks, and improve public spaces including installing public surveillance cameras.

“One of the most important projects is to bring a clinic to Moravia. In addition, we are working on upgrading our recycling program. We want to create an app to teach people how to recycle,” said Zoch.

Zoch said his biggest challenge in the coming years, “is to make services more efficient and effective, and in this way, maximize the utilization of Moravian taxes,” he concludes.

In his own small way, Zoch is forging a new future for Costa Rica’s local governments and for improving the quality of life for local residents.