The PP’s rebellion against the Mayor; i.e., their call for a vote of no confidence, has not come cheap, because the Mayor has withdrawn the salaries of two PP secretaries in the party’s town-hall-based offices. It was the Mayor himself that called the two women to inform them that their services were no longer required.
The referendum
by Editor •
Moving on to the referendum – which is another point covered in the interview – the Mayor says that the total cost of the campaign for the municipal coffers was 79,659 euros, which, he points out, works out at just over two euros a head for the Almuñequeros and La Herradureños.
Salaries…
by Editor •
Going back to the salaries paid out to political appointments in the area council (Mancomunidad), the leader of the IU has made public an interesting list that shows exactly who earns what.
30 years of municipal administration!
by Editor •
On the 3rd of April, the Town Hall organised homage to 30 years of municipal administrations in this new democratic age – under Franco such things were decided by the regime.
New houses unsafe
by Editor •
A group of house owners received the keys for their new homes only to find that they are literally homeless because large cracks have appeared and the buildings are unsafe – a ‘first,’ here in Andalucía, of course.
It was a joyous day, a little over a year ago, when they moved in, and now, although they can’t live in them, they still have to religiously pay their mortgage payments.
Costa Granadina
by Editor •
Businessmen from the main towns on the Costa Granadina are sick to death of politicians putting into danger the chance of the coast receiving literally millions of euros. They claim that our politicians’ inability to agree on even one ‘tourism initiative’ will let 40 million euros slip by. The businessmen are outraged by this and strongly reproach the political class of the Costa Granadina for being unwilling to unite in a common cause for the welfare of the coast.
Illuminating the rock…
by Editor •
Good news: there is new lighting on El Peñon del Santo, more commonly known as the cross on the rock.
Although the rock has been illuminated before, it had fallen into disrepair and the work on the new lighting system took so long that some of the new installations deteriorated and broke before the whole was completed. The job fell to the Granada company, Montajes Electricos Mañas about two years ago with a budget of 88,000 euros.
Student Theatre Group
by Editor •
We have reported on this student theatre group before, made up of pupils from Almuñécars’ oldest secondary school, IES Antigua Sexi. SKS Teatro is a gem that enjoys more acclaim outside our municipal borders than within, but isn’t that always the story. The Spanish have a saying: Profeta en su tierra nunca prospera, which literally translates as: a prophet never prospers in his own land, or in other words, we never value our own talent amongst us.
Municipal Tax Collection
by Editor •
The municipal tax collection service continues to collect complaints from the political opposition. The PSOE socialists claim that the tax-collecting service is a ‘real disaster and chaotic.’ They say that the taxpayer is confused because each different tax is collected in different time periods and the voluntary periods for payment varying in length.
Almuñécar Bankrupt?
by Editor •
The Mayor, Juan Carlos Benavides, declared a ‘suspension of payments,’ which is more often than not, a prelude to insolvency. This is a highly controversial announcement for the Town Hall to make. Many in the opposition feel, (as well as quite a few Almuñequeros in general), that coming after the huge financial outlay on the Referendum campaign, this is hard to swallow.