SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE 24 December (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Board of the Parliament of the Canary Islands has resolved to prolong the investigative commission regarding the procurement of medical supplies during the pandemic for an additional four months – until 20 May 2025 – and to enable the month of January for scheduling further sessions.
This was conveyed by the chair of the commission, Raúl Acosta (AHI), to Europa Press, who noted that due to the substantial number of individuals appearing, it was already evident that they would not be able to adhere to the initial six-month timetable, prompting the invocation of the extension, which will now be comprehensive.
“In any event, I am hopeful that in January, which is unusual for it to be operational, a considerable number of appearances can be advanced, with February and March reserved to conclude what remains, and then in April and part of May for the debate on the resulting opinion that will be established and can also proceed thoroughly,” he remarked.
Initially, it is envisaged that there will be up to four meetings of the commission in January and the same plan is maintained of first inviting individuals from technical and business backgrounds, leaving politicians for the final phase.
Among those who will be invited in January is businessman Víctor de Aldama, the alleged perpetrator of the ‘Koldo case’ who did not attend the meeting earlier this month as he had not been properly summoned while he was in provisional custody.
Acosta has offered a “quite productive” assessment of the investigative commission thus far since most of the individuals requested by the groups “are attending,” the documentary evidence is being provided, and “sufficient information” will be accessible to prepare the final ruling. “At least I am content,” he stated.
He acknowledged that an investigative commission “is a challenge” as “it is very complex” to issue notifications to individuals who are under judicial investigation, incarcerated, or about whom there is limited information.
“Ultimately, it is highly complicated for a Parliament to undertake all this formal work for this commission to function and there is a considerable amount of effort behind it involving numerous people. So, in that formal and functional regard, I am quite satisfied,” he elaborated.
He also admitted that this commission has increased the workload for the groups, particularly the smaller ones, thus, during the processing of the regional budgets, for instance, the sessions were curtailed to manage the workload effectively.
“MPs from previous legislatures have told me that they have never encountered this level of workload as there is virtually no available space for placing commissions, and currently, they are managing ordinary commissions alongside the one addressing the demographic challenge, which also concludes soon, thereby adding to the weekly calendar burden, making it very complicated,” he remarked.
He additionally noted that each parliamentary group has been requested to designate a rapporteur and a deputy for the formulation of the opinion and to “commence working on a sort of framework” to make contributions.