The plenary session of the Tenerife Cabildo yesterday initially approved the island budget for 2024 with the favorable votes of the Government group (CC-PP) and the support of Vox, while the PSOE voted against and presented an amendment to the entire was rejected. The budget for 2024 reaches 1,041 million, with a growth of 9.9%, and in its consolidated form it amounts to 1,138 million. The session began with a minute of silence for the recent death of Jerónimo Saavedra.
The debate on the accounts began with the legal doubts raised by the socialist group because the budget templates for the list of jobs were not also approved in this session, although the secretary of the plenary session stated that there was no “legal inconvenience” if they were complied with. some conditions, so the session, after a break to consult the reports, continued normally.
The insular director of the Treasury, Juan Carlos Pérez, outlined the budgets and highlighted that their entry into force on January 1 will allow “improving the closing and settlement processes, positively affecting the average payment period to suppliers.”
“These are budgets designed to relaunch an Island that has been paralyzed for four years, undermined by political instability in this Council, and with strategic investments for the future that were paralyzed,” emphasized the island president, Rosa Dávila, who added that “ For us it has been important that, in just one hundred days, we have been able to present a budget project that comes into force on January 1 and that, for the first time, it can be executed from that day and thus not only have more resources, but more time for execution.
The island president highlighted that they are accounts that “serve people” and denounced that the social and health plan was “paralyzed by the previous island government.” “Now we have managed with the Government not to have to return 16 million due to non-execution” in the previous mandate, she stated.
Rosa Dávila maintained that “this government faces this first budget with its eyes set on the future and on relaunching Tenerife” and responded to the president of the socialist group and former island president, Pedro Martín, who “runs the risk of becoming paralyzed looking at the past.” . In addition, she asked him how the budget can increase by 10% “if you say that we went down in all areas.” “I think it is difficult for him to read the budget even though he was president of this Council,” she stated. In this sense, he defended that neither the Insular Water Council, nor the areas of Equality or Diversity or the primary sector, among others, reduce their allocations as the PSOE denounces, and showed his confidence that the State budgets include allocations for the train projects because their attendance is “essential.”
Pedro Martin
For his part, Pedro Martín stated that “we are betting on a different budget project, on a comprehensive model in municipal water management, in the distribution of resources, and we cannot find that,” which is why they presented an amendment to the entirety, which was rejected with the vote against CC, PP and Vox. And he criticized that of his 50 partial amendments presented “only one was accepted, and another partially”, while Vox was accepted half of those presented.
Likewise, the president of the socialist group maintained that the budgets do not believe “in municipalism”, with the elimination of items and the lack of agreement with Fecam.
Specifically, some of the reductions that were reported were those for Equality, by 9%, and Diversity, by 52%, as well as that of the Municipal Modernization Program, 40%, and that of the Insular Council of Water, by 17%, and in areas such as the primary sector or the regeneration of tourist spaces, among others.
And in terms of mobility, he criticized that “there is no departure for the South train or the extension of the tram to the North airport, only 50,000 euros for the North train”, nor does the money from the Next Generation funds appear for the BUS lanes -VAO and indicated that he fears that the work on the Padre Anchieta walkway will be delayed to 2025. “These budgets provide apparent solutions without a budget item,” he emphasized.
CC and PP
Meanwhile, the island vice president and spokesperson for the PP, Lope Afonso, defended that the Cabildo’s budget for 2024 responds to five priority aspects: attention to people, recovery after the fire, boosting economic sectors, improving social and territorial cohesion of the Island and mobility problems. He appreciated that “they seek to be useful for Tenerife and the citizens” and accused the PSOE of letting “four years slip through their fingers without living up to what Tenerife needed.”
Likewise, the CC spokesperson, José Miguel Ruano, stated that “we are a new government that comes with the purpose of changing things,” and that they will not do the “with me or against me that you (PSOE) applied for four years.” He defended that these budgets are “to make up for lost time, to put this Council back in the vanguard of the island governments,” and criticized that the amendment to the entire PSOE was “a constant return to the past,” as well as its “leave” in mobility policies and the money they left unexecuted.
The insular director of the Treasury accused the PSOE of “inaccuracies in budgets that go up or down” and defended that the items that the socialists denounced are not reduced and that it is a “balanced” budget and of “solidarity with the municipalities.”
In addition, he explained that “the credits for the BUS-HOV lanes are in the 2023 budget and will necessarily be transferred to the 2024 budget,” and that only the Snowman tram project has been incorporated because it is the one that can be put out to tender, but that if progress was made in others, they could be added.
From Vox, its spokesperson, Ana Salazar, criticized the “little empathy with the primary sector, which is losing weight” in the accounts, and the “improvisation in management” of the island Government “in these first months.” “We expect more forcefulness, rigor and commitment,” she emphasized.
Even so, the group evaluated other items positively and counselor Naim Yánez concluded that “they are not bad budgets for Tenerife, they could be better, yes, but it can be a starting point.”
Approved amendments
Regarding the amendments approved for incorporation into the island budget, there were three from Vox on the expansion of the rehabilitation plan for the Güímar industrial estate (one million), priority works for municipalities of up to 50,000 inhabitants (one million), improvement of the Los Baldíos road TF-265 (50,000 euros) and Arona bay rehabilitation (300,000 euros).
Meanwhile, two were approved from the PSOE, for a subsidy to the Venezuelan Canary Union (100,000 euros) and for the reform of the Ravelo animal shelter (250,000 euros).
The budget also includes 14 amendments presented by the island Government itself for 2.5 million, among which 324,544 euros stand out to the Gender Violence Unit for the opening of two new offices, as well as a new care service in the rural world. which will be itinerant. In addition to 344,663 euros to the agreement between the Cabildo and the Arico City Council for the development of the Special Territorial Plan for Waste Management, among others.
