The response from the Cabildo de Tenerife following the revelation that the General Directorate of Culture and Cultural Heritage of the Regional Government has initiated a Sanctioning file for the destruction of ethnographic heritage during certain works at the Technological Institute of Renewable Energies (Iter) in Arico has highlighted that it was the PSOE who governed both the corporation and the Canary Islands government at the time the projects were approved. Conversely, the Socialists have reminded that the works commenced in 2024, under Rosa Dávila’s leadership.
The Cabildo has already announced its intention to appeal against the sanctioning file (involving a fine of €304,500) and that it will request the Canary Islands government to initiate an internal review to determine why the previous executive failed to mention an ethnographic deposit known as Morra Meca when authorising the installation of a photovoltaic plant.
Following the notification of this issue, action was taken, work was halted, and a team of archaeologists is working to safeguard the site, which, as clarified by Rosa Dávila, concerns a bench and not “mummies.”
In this regard, the President of Tenerife stated that “something that we want the Government to investigate has occurred,” since when the Ministry of Ecological Transition of the former Executive authorised the installation of plates for iter on that land in November 2021, it “omitted the existence of an ethnographic deposit in that area.”
Consequently, the Cabildo de Tenerife will also challenge the sanctioning file, as “we cannot act upon something of which we were unaware,” and there was no mention of it in the authorisation, which was issued by the Ministry then headed by José Antonio Valbuena and did not include this in its conditions.
Rosa Dávila has emphasised that the Cabildo will assert that the previous government “concealed” the existence of the deposit in its report when granting the relevant authorisation, while also indicating that the insular corporation is working to give value to this ethnographic aspect.
The projects commenced in 2024
The Socialist Group has, in turn, condemned Dávila for “attempting to divert attention” from her management by blaming the prior Canary Islands government for damage to the Morra Meca ethnographic deposit “when these occurred in 2024,” already under their governance of CC and PP in the institution.
The spokesman for the Socialists, Aaron Afonso, explained that the Fotobat 5+5 solar plant, promoted by the Technological Institute of Renewable Energies (Iter), began site preparations in 2024, which is when “the deposit was affected, without implementing the measures outlined in the authorisation.”
The PSOE has also stated that the historical heritage authorisation was contingent on conditions that stipulated that “if any heritage element was found, the work should be immediately halted and a supervising archaeologist present.”
However, it has been revealed that “none of these conditions were fulfilled,” and both the Cabildo and the Canary Islands government “only acted following a public complaint.” Thus, the PSOE believes…
**Cabildo President’s Serious Oversight**
The Socialist Party asserts that Dávila’s explanations do not absolve her from blame regarding this matter, as the circumstances “confirm that actions were taken without specialised technical supervision, violating the very conditions of the authorisation.”
Furthermore, the PSOE emphasises that it was the iter itself which admitted to having to reduce the number of photovoltaic panels and alter the park’s design to safeguard the reservoir, indicating that “there was indeed a stipulation and that the work was carried out without the essential guarantees.”
“Rosa Dávila attempts to shift the blame to previous administrations for damages incurred during her term. The management of iter is directly accountable to the presidency of the Cabildo, and what has faltered here are the oversight and heritage monitoring during the execution of the project, not in the earlier authorisation phase,” stated the socialist group.
The PSOE has insisted that the island president must take “her responsibility” for the management of a public entity that, under her oversight, “has modified a heritage asset and violated the protection conditions laid out in the authorisation.”
