The former social rights advisor recalls numerous calls to sell supplies and emphasises that it was a time filled with many “opportunists”.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 28th Mar (Europa Press) –
The former social rights advisor of the Government of the Canary Islands and current deputy of Podemos in Congress, Noemí Santana, stated on Friday that during the pandemic management in the archipelago there were “mistakes” and instances of “poor practice,” particularly within the Canary Health Service (SCS).
During an appearance before the Investigation Commission of the Canary Islands Parliament, she mentioned that she could have been “more rigorous” in overseeing the procurement of medical supplies, as it was a period characterised by “gaps” in the system that allowed “opportunistic” individuals to infiltrate.
“There were people who contacted us to sell, and we informed them that we were not authorised,” she remarked.
She noted that she had previously raised this issue during a governing meeting and specifically criticised the appointment of Conrado Domínguez as director of the Canary Health Service (SCS). “We were never in favour of it,” she clarified.
In her view, there was a lack of “certainty” in some controls despite acknowledging that they were seeking “materials from under stones,” and she now hopes that justice will clarify the events surrounding irregular purchases.
She has shared “partially” the perspective of the former Health advisor of the Government of the Canary Islands, Teresa Cruz, asserting that Conrado Domínguez was “a poor manager and a fixer,” and insisted that their then parliamentary group demonstrated their “strong rejection” of his appointment, to the extent that opposition groups requested his dismissal from the Executive.
Santana has defended the government’s management and her own department regarding residences and centres for the elderly, highlighting that the Canary Islands had the fewest fatalities and was the first to carry out screenings.
“It was a model that contrasted with Madrid,” she asserted, emphasising that they were “never” managed by the central government, given that they fell under autonomous jurisdiction.
She pointed out that “at no time” did they process the purchase of health supplies, as they merely distributed what the SCS provided, although initially, they managed to gather approximately 100,000 masks for donations.
The former advisor mentioned the confidentiality of the discussions within the Governing Council, clarifying that while she was questioned about the procurement of supplies, she was not part of the Health Emergency Committee; she was only involved in a social advisory capacity alongside other advisors and President Ángel Víctor Torres.
She emphasised that they were never invited to that committee, and that the government believed that working through committees was “more effective” for “day-to-day” matters, without “supplanting” the Governing Council.
“It would not be unusual” to utilise European funds
Regarding the utilisation of European funds to finance the four million RR7 contract, she feels that “it would not be unusual,” as the EU has allocated substantial economic resources to address COVID-19, and she is unaware of any “pressures” from Deputy Prime Minister Román Rodríguez to oust Health Minister Teresa Cruz.
She stated that upon hearing about the judicial cases – “through the media” – she informed Torres, who was “devastated” by the revelations, and requested that the autonomous community be involved in the proceedings.
Santana explained that she abstained from voting in the Governing Council on the establishment of the Investigation Commission for “Coherence” because she believes it is a “necessary” approach and assumed that her parliamentary group eventually voted against it.
She also remarked that the procurement of supplies had a “political dimension,” asserting that such decisions were not made unilaterally by officials. “When making decisions, political considerations also played a role; an official did not unilaterally decide on such matters,” she concluded.
