So what exactly is the Mancomunidad de la Costa Tropicaland why are our politicians squabbling so much to get control of it? Good question!
Many of you will remember the drought years of the early 90’s when tap water was so salty that only the staunchest could bear brushing their teeth with it, let alone drink it.
Well, the Junta back in 1993 decided that a municipality on its own couldn’t cope with the task of providing fresh water for its inhabitants so it set up the Mancomunidad, which is basically a grouping of municipalities within a given area to jointly go where no man has gone before.
Thus our Mancomunidad was born with this specific task, which it handled admirably well, sorting out everybody’s fresh water requirements and also sorting out the sewage-disposal deficit – no more pumping untreated sewage straight into the sea.
Critics say that it no longer needs to exist and that it certainly hasn’t evolved anywhere since then, but our politicians in this eternal battle between the country’s two major parties (PSOE & PP) certainly don’t want to see it disappear because
A) It comes with a budget of 48 million euros to be spent over the next four years, and…
B) Its structure means that whoever controls it can provide three juicy, salary-backed cargos de confianza (cushy jobs for the boys) to be dispensed as recompense for support.
And this is where the smaller parties punch above their weight, because neither of the two parties can swing it single-handed – they need the backing of minor parties, which is why Benny is the favourite colour of the month. Let me explain further…
Four years ago, the PP took control of the Mancomunidad, thanks to the supporting votes of Juan Carlos Benavides’ CA votes and now, one local elections later, the PSOE have come to an understanding with the ex-Mayor to grab the Mancomunidad.
Understandably, people can be forgiven for wondering why the PSOE didn’t think that Benny was fit to be the Mayor but consider him a wonderful choice to co-run the Mancomunidad with them.
Four years ago it was the opposite; the PP were trying to get a vote of no confidence to oust the Mayor from power in Almuñécar, but were in alliance with him to control the Mancomunidad.
The fact of the matter is that with a budget of 48 million a lot of vote-inspiring public work can be carried out in the coastal towns, all stamped with “courtesy of…” And, of course, for four years, three buddies get to hold Area Head positions within the entity, getting a modest salary of between 1,300 and 1,800 euros, depending on the post.
No matter that the ‘recompensed’ candidates haven’t an iota of expertise in the area over which they will govern – all that matter is four years of salary for carrying out a task that is superfluous – especially in this cash-strapped, public purse era.
Drought? What drought? Who cares; business as usual.
(News: Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)