Latest news on the La Palma volcano
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Oct 19 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The vice president of the Government of the Canary Islands and finance minister, Román Rodríguez, announced this Tuesday that the Executive is preparing a second decree law, led by the General Intervention of the autonomous community, to speed up the distribution of aid to those affected in La Palma .
In parliamentary committee he has commented that the objective is to create a “single registry” for all the administrations involved in the reconstruction and thus achieve a “transparent and agile” procedure that implies “eliminating papers and reducing times”.
Rodríguez has pointed out that the resources “have to arrive quickly” to those affected because the reconstruction “will take years” and in parallel with the emergency actions, he has indicated that the island must be “rethought” and look to the future since the eruption has put on the table the weakness of its infrastructures and productive fabric.
He has insisted a lot on improving management procedures because the antecedents of previous tragedies “are worrying”, taking as an example the case of the Lorca earthquake, when many affected received aid six years later. “This cannot be repeated,” he commented.
The vice president has highlighted the “commitment” of the Canarian Government to face the “catastrophe” of the volcano and at a time when people are going through “many difficulties” and subject to “fear and uncertainty.”
Thus, it has defended the decree law of fiscal relief approved more than two weeks ago with measures until 2026 and the purchase of the first homes for those affected through the public company Visocan.
In addition, he commented that for the 2022 regional budgets there will be about 100 million specific to La Palma “and expandable”, which will join the 40 million of own resources already mobilized by the autonomous community.
Vidina Espino, spokesperson for the Mixed Group, has said that it will support in Parliament the validation of the fiscal relief decree law but at the same time has said that it is “insufficient” because those affected will not be able to pay taxes within six months.
He has said that in the face of an “unprecedented catastrophe” those affected should be exempted from taxes and requested more haste in the distribution of aid because a month has passed and the victims have not received “not one euro.”
AVOID “DESPERANZA”, AFFIRMS BARRETO (CC-PNC)
Lady Barreto, from the Grupo Nacionalista, has demanded that measures be taken so that there is the “minimum possible bureaucracy” and multi-year funds for La Palma in the public budgets of all administrations.
He has said that the island’s reconstruction plan must be comprehensive and “include everything”, and that it has the participation of those affected since La Palma is experiencing “the greatest social and economic emergency” in its history.
In addition, he has urged the vice president to prevent the palm tree population from falling into “despair”, to increase the 100 million proposed for the 2022 budgets, to exempt the payment of taxes and to compensate those affected with the real value of the lost heritage.
Matilde Fleitas, from the Socialist Group, has agreed with the rest of the deputies on the need to create “agile procedures” to help those affected and took advantage of her intervention to defend that the vast majority of the island’s inhabitants comply with the urban discipline, beyond some “serious cases” that must be persecuted or families who have built their houses where they could.
