The opposition, socialist party in Almuñécar, managed to gain official access to the town's aquarium but what they saw was much worse than expected.

Before we go on, it is worth pointing out that the PSOE was not in power when it was built, which was under Juan Carlos Benavides, nor is it in power now; the PP conservatives are, therefore the party Spokeswoman, Rocio Palacio is in the advantages position in that her party is not responsible for its present state nor did it have anything to do with the shoddy construction work in the first place.

We also have to take into account, this underground area beneath a square was not intended to be an aquarium but rather a permanent, ice-skating rink. Anybody who goes into an underground car park’s top level knows how hot it gets with the sun beating down on the surface, so it is small wonder that the idea was abandoned when the company that was running it just couldn’t keep the ice from melting in the summer. So, what do you do with the crater? You put an aquarium in it.

Anyway, back to the PSOE’s complaint:

“When we were able to see the installations, we realised that we had been right: El Acuario de Almuñécar was in a disastrous state. Since our last visit on the 6th of May, it has become very much worse,” said opposition councillor, Rocio Palacios but conceded that it is true that workers have managed to fix the fissure in the shark tank but even so, she considers that they had never seen El Acuario in such a state of abandonment and deterioration.

But Sra. Palacios wasn’t finished and asked how it was possible that the governing coalition had allowed the same thing that happened to the municipal market, to happen to The Aquarium, as well. She said that her party had been asking for years that more money be spent on maintenance and pointed out that there are only two or three such aquariums in the whole of Andalucía.

She listed defects caused by the broken ventilation system: a high humidity that has rotted and corroded most of the interior; electricity mains boxes dripping water; the all pervading smell of rotten fish and whole areas of the installations without electricity.

She considers the Mayor and his team responsible for this state of affairs as they have been in power for 12 years and according to Sra. Palacios, has done nothing but let the installations “die.”

The municipal aquarium opened its doors for the first time in 2008, thanks to grants from the Junta de Andalucía.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)