The president of the Provincial Council of Alicante, Toni Pérezdefended this Friday in the State of the Province Debate the capacity to management and the budgetary execution of the provincial institution which, this year alone, will have mobilized more than 520 million euros in investments And projectswhile the initial budget was 295 million euros.
During the extraordinary session, during which all political groups transferred their condolences At victims For DANA, the leader of Alicante therefore valued the “serious, efficient, realistic and useful” management of the Foral Deputation, “always at the service of our 141 municipalities and three smaller local entities”.
“This group of deputies is giving everything to deploy the greatest ability investor in the history of this Deputation and it does it above its own budget and it reaches every corner of the province, with particular emphasis on combating the demographic challenge”, declared Toni Pérez, while welcoming the policies developed by the former provincial corporation chaired by cArlos Mazón“which made the Provincial Council the main investment engine of the province, if not the only one, and the essential support of the municipalities”.
“The Provincial Council is the best guarantor of local autonomy, a tool at the service of local businesses,” insisted Toni Pérez, who highlighted the investments that the provincial institution has promoted in recent months. In this sense, he stressed that the Infrastructure Domain currently manages more than 950 works thanks to the Plans. +Close, Plan either +Sports.
The defense of water was another of the arguments presented by the president of the Provincial Council in this debate, highlighting the policies developed by the institution, such as the more than 7.3 million euros allocated to the improvement of the effectiveness of water for irrigation or the support given to municipalities to guarantee supply and sanitation, especially to those like Teulada and Benitatxell which suffered restrictions this summer due to the drought. At this stage, he also recalled that the Provincial Council will provide more than 8.3 million euros of PERTE funds to 70 small towns in the province, including 15 threatened with depopulation, for the digitalization of the water cycle.
Faced with this, Toni Pérez once again denounced the water policy of the government of Pedro Sánchez which endangers the Transfer Tajo-Segura and demanded a National Water Pact. “The current policy, catastrophic“Not only does this go in the opposite direction, but it also takes us away from what is established in both the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals,” the president noted. Thus, he reiterated that “nothing will prevent us from forcefully demanding that this province needs a water policy that involves investments and bringing water from where it is to where it is necessary” and took advantage of this moment to highlight the “in record time” of the post-transfer works of Júcar-Vinalopó by the Mazón government, “which now has a clear defense of water for the province of Alicante, without person surveillance and with clear, wrinkle-free vision.
In this same sense, the president of the Provincial Council welcomed the policy promoted by the Generalitat “which showed in a short time that things could be done differently, that Alicante counts a lot and that by working in the same direction, the ‘whole Comunitat wins’, citing measures such as tax deductions, the Vive Plan to facilitate access to housing, the abolition of the tourist tax, the reduction of health waiting lists – up to 60% as a priority -, the creation of 445 places In hospitals of day For the province, the return of the CICU to Alicante or the universalization of free education from 0 to 3 years old with an investment of 163 million euros this year alone, among others.
“Let us confront what happens in society when one administration acts and complies, while another is supposed to listen or respond to more than just requests,” argued Toni Pérez, who therefore requested that the central administration equitable financing this takes into account the demographic growth of what is already the fourth province in terms of number of inhabitants in Spain. “We continue to suffer from unfair underfinancing, placing us in recent years at 52% out of 52 in terms of state investment per capita,” said the president, who warned that “with budgets expanded, Alicante will remain the last. .
Tax “waste”
The leader of Alicante also criticized the negative effects that the reactivation of tax rules will have on local entities, as well as the ‘waste» referring to the new tax burden derived from Law 7/2022 on Solid Waste. “The central government has used Spanish municipalities as collection offices for a new state tax, transforming mayors into collectors of this new tax, which will multiply the bill that citizens will have to pay,” he denounced. .
The president also forcefully defended tourism, which will once again break the visitor record this year, which is why he denied the episodes of tourism phobia and its effects.
From the group popularyour spokesperson, Ana Sernalooked into the execution capacity of the Provincial Council and argued, in this regard, that “this cannot be measured only with the initial budget -295 million- since it is necessary to take into account all the remaining additions which are in progress. .
At this stage, he specified that with these balances, a final budget of 520 million euros was managed, of which as of November 21, 2024, 327 million euros (recognized commitments) have already been executed, i.e. 60 more than in the previous year. “You will agree with me that the effort made by these deputies and the workers of this institution has been titanic,” said Serna, who estimated that the year would close with an execution level of 400 million. At this stage, he defended proposals such as the Consumption Bonus -20 million- or the +Cerca Plan -30 million euros-.
On the opposition side, the different political groups focused part of their intervention on criticism of the management of the Dana which devastated Valencia on October 29, focusing PSOE And Commitments by questioning the action of the Generalitat and Vox, also extending it to the central government.
Concerning provincial politics, the spokesperson for the socialist group, Vicente Arquescriticized “the blockage and lack of ambition” of the provincial institution, as well as the “lack of projects and very weak budgetary execution”, and reached out to his group to improve the management of European funds and in optimize execution. projects, while urging the government team to join the Municipal Cooperation Fund, as Compromís did.
From the Valencian team, his deputy, Ximo Beadsregretted the absence of proposals in the president’s intervention, who demanded to “break the umbilical cord with Mr. Mazón and have his own leadership.”
Voicefor his part, denounced that the government team “systematically ignored” all the proposals made by this group and demanded, in this sense, greater dialogue. “Alicante deserves a courageous Provincial Council to promote it,” said Gema Alemán.
