The plenary session of the Cabildo de Tenerife ratified yesterday that the government team formed by the Canary Islands Coalition and the Popular Party (18 councillors) will maintain the salaries of the elected members and senior positions without a rise for this 2023-2027 term. This was agreed in an extraordinary session, the objective of which was to ratify the new organizational structure and did not include the usual supervisory part of motions or questions from political groups. In the end, the salary freeze was approved by 19 votes in favor (PP, CC and Vox) and 10 abstentions (two directors were missing) from the Socialist Group.
Based on this decision, the president of the Corporation, Rosa Dávila, will receive 89,349 euros gross per year. Her three vice-presidents, Lope Afonso (first), José Miguel Ruano (second) and José Carlos Acha (third) will receive 85,417 and the rest of the councilors of the government group, a total of fourteen, 71,425 each.. The spokesmen for the two opposition groups, Pedro Martín (PSOE). and Ana Salazar (Vox) have been entitled since the beginning of the previous term, in 2019, to a remuneration of 75% of the salary of a director; that is, 53,569 euros.
The former insular president, very active yesterday in his debut in the new role, has not requested this assignment while waiting to go to Madrid after being elected senator on 23J. He announces that he will combine both responsibilities and, in addition, he rejoined his position as a technician in the Adeje City Council a few days ago, where he will probably request leave of absence again before living his first experience in the Upper House.
As for the Vox spokeswoman, Ana Salazar, yesterday she declined the invitations of the president, and there were several, to take the floor. She and her partner, Naim Yánez, always voted alongside the island government on all occasions.
“Salaries or remuneration have not been modified,” said Rosa Dávila, after the socialist spokesman announced that his group was abstaining when recalling that, in the previous mandate with the PSOE and Ciudadanos government, CC asked him to lower his salary. “We are not going to carry out that populist policy,” Martín assured. Therefore, he guaranteed that the PSOE will not sue the Canarian Coalition and the Popular Party to apply the lowering of salaries. Dávila qualified that in the 2019-2023 stage, the then socialist president was not urged to lower his salary, but rather what he was asked to do was “not raise it.”
During the session, the spokespersons of the political groups with representation in the Island Corporation were ratified. In addition to Martín (PSOE) and Salazar (Vox) they will be for CC José Miguel Ruano and for the PP, Lope Afonso;
In the plenary session they realized other aspects related to the organization chart and the functioning of the Cabildo. Among them, the calendar of ordinary plenary sessions, approved unanimously, which will be held on the last Friday of each month.
It was also agreed by all present the creation of a new Special Commission of Accounts. Likewise, the highest island body approved, once again with the abstention of the ten PSOE councilors present, the request for compatibility of Manuel Fernández (PP) and Juan Acosta (CC) for the exercise of private activity and the position of Mayor of Santa Ursula, respectively.
The Socialists rejected the designation of the members for the Tenerife Fire Prevention, Extinction and Rescue Consortium because “the most important opposition group is not represented”; that is, the PSOE.
This insular plenary session of organization determined even the geographical disposition of the groups. To the left of the Presidential Table, PSOE and Vox. On the right, CC and PP.
Resignation of Monica Ceballos
The secretary of the plenary session reported on the last item on the agenda, on the 19th, of the resignation of the minutes, presented in writing on the 5th, of the PSOE counselor, Mónica Ceballos, who leaves office for professional reasons, be an official of the Cabildo and not be able to request leave of absence. Her personal forced her not to be there yesterday as she would have wished. Both the socialist spokesman, Pedro Martín, and her president, Rosa Dávila, had words of affection and support for her. She will be replaced by the next on the socialist list for the 28M elections, Candelaria de León, who will take office from her at the next island plenary session. | JDM
