The mayor of Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), María José García-Pelayo (PP), regretted this Wednesday that her city was not included in the decree of the Spanish government published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) to be compensated for damages caused by the DANA.
For García-Pelayo, this decision is “regrettable”, announcing that they will work to “reconsider this decision” and for Jerez to be part of this network of municipalities that must receive compensation, as he explained in an interview at Canal Sur Television. collected by Europa Press.
The mayor recalled that the estimated damage in the town amounts to approximately “39 million euros” in total, including the conditions recorded in its urban center, where flooding occurred in streets, commercial premises, basements of homes and municipal facilities, among others, and which were estimated at approximately nine million , and losses in the countryside and its rural areas. area, where the agricultural entities -Asaja and COAG- bring the economic loss to 30 million.
“Nothing comparable, of course, and all my respect and all my love for the Valencian Community“, for the city of Valencia and for each of the affected cities, which are more than 60. Nothing is comparable, but obviously we also need and are entitled to this compensation because we also had this meteorological drama. ” , he declared.
Precisely, shortly before García Pelayo’s obvious disappointment, the advisor herself had indicated, without reservation, that she hoped that the criteria for applying the aid would be respected “without blackmail and without pressure”, and that the ‘National Executive would demonstrate that “There is humanity, sensitivity and commitment.”
“Rather fair” to the Council’s aid
In opposition to this, he spoke of the decree of the Junta de Andalucía in which they assigned 72 million euros for the municipalities concerned by DANA, ensuring that “this was done fairly fairly”. “I think we are 285 municipalities concerned and in this first decree, the amount mentioned was distributed proportionally between all the town halls, so it is a first starting point which is important”, he commented.
The mayor also focused on other aid measures, namely the repair of rural roads and support for farmers, recalling that in the Jerez countryside there was “very significant” agricultural damage. In fact, both Asaja I like COAGthe two professional agricultural organizations estimated the expected damage at around 30 million euros, “a very significant amount”, in the words of García-Pelayo.
“It is important that measures are taken, the Council has taken a step forward, what I believe is fundamental and what I hope is that progress will continue to be made, because it is true that this is not the case. is not finished,” he said.
Continuing, he assured that this situation has left “an important lesson” and that “we must be prepared, we must be on alert”, given the situation in his city, where the Guadalete River It was on alert due to overflow and more than 200 residents living in flood-prone areas had to be evacuated.
River cleaning
“We have rivers that are overflowing, and we cannot be on a daily basis without looking at the rivers, without taking care of our rivers, without cleaning the rivers and without being aware of these floods, this rain. I think there will be a before and an after,” commented the mayor, advocating “prevention” as something “fundamental”.
In this regard, she indicated that as president of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) your entity does not have “regulatory capacity” to avoid the construction of houses in flood zones, but what it can do is “recommendations” in this regard. Thus, he highlighted that in Jerez “more than two million euros” are allocated by the Commission to clean and channel seven kilometers of the Guadalete that cross this city, targeting houses that are in flood zones and on which “Decisions will be made or not in matters of town planning”, specifying that “it is not her responsibility” as president of the FEMP.
Regarding the wave of solidarity that has spread throughout the country towards the areas most affected by DANA, she indicated that she is mayor “of the Town Hall with no more debt from Spain” but that in the face of tragic events like that of Valencia, “you cannot look away”, knowing that if your city, with these debt conditions, “can help”, “no one can believe that the president of The Spanish Government “Not only can’t it help, it shouldn’t help.”
He said “not only is financial help important,” but also “emotional help,” which he saw among local police officers and firefighters who went to Ground Zero. “People are crying. It’s not just about money, it’s about feeling and facilitating the recovery work. “We all see how difficult it is,” he added.
