This Tuesday, in the context of press conferences on the institutional crisis in Formentera convened by sa Unió and the PSOE, Gent per Formentera (GxF) has joined the criticism towards the president of the Consell, Llorenç Córdoba. The group, represented by councilor Rafa González, has accused the leader of impeding the work of the opposition by not convening the ordinary October plenary session and has highlighted four areas of conflict in its management: the lack of transparency in the code of ethics, poor economic management, opacity in the handling of urban planning licenses and a controversial concession in the port of La Savina. The GxF councilor has affirmed that the absence of the ordinary plenary of October responds to a strategy to avoid the publication of a report of the Ethics Commission. According to him, this document “has been ready since the beginning of October” and, according to the secretary of the Consell, “should be made public in the next ordinary plenary session”. The lack of convocation, he said, casts doubt on the will of transparency of the president. In the economic aspect, the group has described as “disastrous” the administration of the resources of the Consell, noting that “the Consell is spending more than it has”, which compromises financial sustainability.
“If the Consell did not have the remaining cash left by the previous government, it would not be able to pay salaries or day-to-day bills at the end of the year,” warned the councilor, who considers this extraordinary measure unsustainable in the long term. As for urban planning, GxF has recalled that all urban planning changes of the previous legislature were publicly approved in plenary sessions, and that the current president Cordoba, then head of the opposition, was present and with access to the documentation. “The minutes of the governing boards are publicly available,” Gonzalez has stressed, thus questioning the president’s claims of a lack of transparency in the granting of licenses. “Llorenç Córdoba had the opportunity to vote on every urban planning change that was made, and that documentation is public,” the councilor added, pointing out that the president is using this issue as a “smokescreen.” The same strategy has been used by the PSOE and sa Unió. Finally, Gent per Formentera has expressed its concern about the possible monopolization of the port of La Savina. As they have stated, the Consell has asked the Port Authority to “unify the entire concession under a single operator“, as La Voz de Ibiza had advanced, thus eliminating competition in the port. Currently, the port of La Savina has two concessions, which allows “affordable prices and space for local businesses and residents’ boats”. A single 25-year concession, they warn, could “increase prices and restrict access for local people and businesses in Formentera,” which would go against the requests expressed in previous plenary sessions to maintain space for individuals and affordable prices at the port. For Gent per Formentera, these four points – ethics, economy, urban planning and port – reflect a management detrimental to the interests of the island.
“A lie repeated a thousand times does not become true. If the contest is poorly done, you have to present evidence, and has not presented any,” they have concluded from GxF, demanding immediate answers and a firm commitment to transparency and economic responsibility in the Consell de Formentera.
