Residents of Urbanización Paraíso del Sol de Benajarafe, got totally fed up of having potholes all over the place and decided to do something about it themselves.

This urbanización, which is on the western side of the municipality of Vélez-Málaga, has been complaining literally for years about the state of the majority of their streets.

Some of the potholes were deep enough to use as a trap for a charging rhinos… well, all right; rather deep and wide: 20cms deep and 2-metres wide.

So, last Thursday they collectively thought, “enough is enough,” bought the materials, with somebody coming up with wheelbarrows and a small mixer and set about sorting out the streets.

Everyone did their bit from the people running around with ladened wheelbarrows of cement to a housewife who came out with a broom to sweep up the loose gravel.

Now, of course, an opposition party can always sniff out a cause to champion; one that no doubt they would ignore if they were in office, but be that as it may, Andalucía por Sí joined the residents, working away at repairing their own streets. It was necessary to close one of the main streets temporarily, obviously, so barriers were found and placed in position.

The spokesman for Andalucía Por Sí, José Pino, brandished a trowel heroically as he addressed the residents, said, “We have been presenting requests before the Mayor, Jesús Lupiáñez (PP), to address the issue, since at least last November, but there has been no response.”

During the present Mayor’s election campaign, he said that they were going to take over the maintenance of all the urbanizaciones, but his pledge is missing in action, presumed dead.

Just when they were wrapping up, along came a Vélez-Málaga, municipal-police patrol and asked for IDs, including that of the opposition councillor. The officers wanted to know whether they had obtained permission to close the street off, to which Sr. Pino said that the Town Hall has not taken over responsibility yet for the urbanización, thus it was private property.

According to the Mayor, the police turned up at the request of several residents who had complained and that now they would look into whether there had been a legal transgression.

So there you have it, a Town Hall totally ignores a situation until, in sheer desperation somebody sorts it out themselves and down comes the Town Hall with admonishments rather than thanks!

(News/Opinion; Velez-Malaga, Axarquia, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia – Photo: E. Cabezas)