Yesterday’s plenary session at the Roquetas De Mar City Council focused, among other matters, on the emergency contract to beacon the beaches and install shaded areas. This year, as IDEAL reported, there has been a significant delay because of problems with the company which was originally awarded. This led to harsh criticism from all parties.
Manolo Garcia (PSOE’s spokesman) said that he understands the difficulty in contracting with price rises but also highlighted the “damage” that this delay is causing to older people, people with disabilities, and that, already at Easter, it called for the implementation Beach Plan, whose services should be available most of the year to “break seasonality.”
Garcia called it a “serious fail of management and improvisation” and recalls that the award of this service was made in December 2021. It was not signed until June last year. Garcia also disfigured the government team that “worked with its back to tourism”.
Juan Pablo Yakubiuk from IU also criticized the incident and asked why no compensation has been offered for the delays. The mayor demanded that the company that had abandoned the contract before it was started be punished. He also requested that “responsibilities” be assigned to the Government team for failing to monitor the contract. It was awarded over six months ago, and has not been formalized since the beginning of the campaign without margin. This was something that he considered “very serious.”
Ciudadanos resident Daniel Zalalla expressed concern over the difficulty of accessing the beaches and safety issues that jet skis can pose due to the absence of beacons and navigation channels. Zalalla chose to advance the tenders in order to avoid this kind of problem and to have the ability to act. He also defended that the Rocky coast will be ready in May.
Jose Ignacio Cerrudo, Vox spokesperson, also denounced the delay of 40 days. He explained that the installation of the nautical channels didn’t begin until Thursday, and that things like lifeguard chairs still remain missing. Cerrudo expressed concern about the possibility of losing the blue Flags as a result of this error. He considered it another example of the “theatre ofimprovisation” and “absolute chaos,” that prevails in the Department of Tourism and Beaches. He also asked why Francisco Barrionuevo was on a beach trip last week, and even asked for his resignation.
Gabriel Amat, the mayor, responded from the Government team and stated that the City Council had to initiate legal proceedings to “force” the company out of the contract and request the appropriate responsibilities.
The Government team was informed this week that work to place beaconing began this week. This is in addition to the other pending actions that are part the emergency contract that was signed last week.
Yesterday, the Plenary of Roquetas made official Juanjo Salvador’s march to the Parliament in Andalusia following his election as Almeria PP parliamentarian in June 19. Salvador intervened at the Plenary to express gratitude to the City Council workers. He also wanted to acknowledge all councilors in the Plenary, despite “disagreements” he considered to be normal. These were a few words he shared with his party members, and particularly Gabriel Amat, the mayor. The mayor has described the Corporation as a “privilege” or “honor” that he was able to call it. His colleagues and other members of the group responded with a few words, thanking him for his dedication and work throughout the years.
Yesterday also saw the official departure of Ana Fuentes, a Socialist Group member. He became the fifth turncoat councilor in the current Corporation. Fuentes spoke out about differences with the party. However, he expressed gratitude to Manolo Garcia (his head of ranks), who asked him to read the minutes. The minutes according to Fuentes belong to the party “morally” and “ethically.”
