Sebastián Martín, mayor of Arico, conveys his discomfort at “the lack of will and perspective of the Cabildo” when facing the demand to promote efforts and actions for the rehabilitation of the El Río dam. The alderman publicly claims a work demanded by farmers in the region. “Rainwater on the Island is being wasted. Our municipality has an infrastructure in El Río that can be used. It is a battle in which we are with our farmers, because it would be good to have it, “he says.
Almost a year ago Arico launched the process to rehabilitate and put into use the El Río dam. Built during the 1960s, it was designed to take advantage of the water that flowed through the border ravine between Arico and Granadilla de Abona, into which eleven other basins flow. Located about 600 meters above sea level, it has the capacity to store three million pipes of water, equivalent to one and a half million cubic meters. «The bulk of the work, which requires a lot of money, is done; only need to make the glass, for which the scrambled egg is available right there, and to waterproof and equip”, is maintained from the primary sector of the municipality.
This defense of one of the most important projects for Arico is added to the complaint about the “absence of the Government of the Canary Islands” in the case of the construction of a school in Abbots. Martín explains that “the Ministry of Education urgently asked us to transfer the land, we put all the technicians of the Consistory to work and we complied, but that urgency disappeared.” The mayor affirms that from the regional Executive “they tell us that they have a plan from the south of the Island to Santa Cruz, but it seems that Arico is at the back.”
When facing the last stretch of the mandate (in 2023 there will be elections), the local government meets “the supra-municipal entities, such as the Executive of the Canary Islands or the Cabildo of Tenerife, have not done anything for Arico.” It is determined by Sebastián Martín, who understands that “out of responsibility, we have to defend our municipality and carry out actions in different ways.” Consequently, he points out that, “since these institutions have not provided subsidies or money, we have dedicated 2021 to ordering the accounts of this City Council to have enough to face the investments demanded by the neighbors.”
Along these lines, the approval of the Budget for this year and a multi-year Investment Plan, “long-term and with a great future perspective”, stand out. He is also satisfied that, “for the first time”, employment plans are developed “guaranteed, for one year, work for 35 people in different areas of the City Council and with the aim of improving services.”
