The situation of Associations Service of the Autonomous Community It is a clear example of the serious difficulties experienced in certain areas of the Autonomous Administration due to the lack of personnel and the difficulties in covering casualties and vacancies. For more than six months this service has practically collapsed because some of its staff have either retired or are on sick leave, so that in Tenerife It has been up to four months without personnel to attend the service and all the work has had to be carried out by the staff of Gran Canaria.
Complaints from groups and associations have increased due to this congestion, a situation that also occurs in other departments of the Autonomous Administration as a result of not updating the job relations (RPT) and the slowness in filling vacancies. In this case, it is not only about the delays in registering an association but, what harms the groups more, the delays in issuing the certificates that are mandatory for any registered association that wants to apply for public subsidies or carry out procedures before the Administration.
“I am sorry to inform you that there is a considerable delay in the processing of the files due to the fact that, for approximately a year, the Associations service has been greatly affected by the lack of personnel (practically the entire staff). We do everything that is in our hands so that the waiting time is as short as possible. We appreciate your patience and regret any inconvenience that this situation could cause you”. Of this tenor are the responses of the associations service to the demand of the groups that have requested the digital certificate in recent months and are still waiting for the document. Some of those affected warn that these delays cause damage and denounce “this situation to which small businesses and associations are forced, many without resources to access professional assistance, where in order to meet the demands of the Administration we find ourselves with obstacles that the administration itself.
The General Director of Transparency and Citizen Participation, Marta Saavedrais aware of the situation that has arisen in the department due to the coincidence of various casualties and retirements, which has reduced the number of personnel needed to take on a huge task, since in the Canary Islands there are more than 20,000 registered associations and in the second half of 2021 alone, 1,376 certificates were issued, while in the five months that have elapsed in 2022 there have been 1,100 more with four less troops working and only with the three that are in Gran Canaria. One of the alternatives that has been developed to avoid these administrative problems is that the certificate can be issued electronically, through the electronic headquarters of the Autonomous Community.
“We are not going to deny that we have had a serious problem of lack of troops with a certain slow response, there is a precarious RPT and a good part of the staff is already advanced in age, in fact an official recently retired,” admits Saavedra. The general director understands the complaints of the groups and collectives and hopes that the digital alternative will be further explored in order to be more agile in the response and that the department be staffed, something that, today, remains to be seen because the difficulties for filling posts and pulling reserve lists are being maintained and progress is scant.
One of the problems that the Directorate General has also had to deal with is the restrictions imposed by the covid, which directly affected customer service. Marta Saavedra adds that many people still lack more digital culture and those responsible for the associations go to the service in person for registrations, certificates and other procedures. Restrictions and lack of staff have made it necessary to make prior appointments and call attention, but only two days a week and at certain times, which has also been a disruption for associations. For this reason, Saavedra explains that advances in the automation of certificate issuance are accelerating.