SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE Nov. 26 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, cautioned this Tuesday about the “devastation” that would arise from the failure to comply with the budget allocations agreed upon with the central government, estimated to be approximately €800 million for this year.
In response to an inquiry from the Nationalist Group during the control session, he noted that the shortage of funds would also be “detrimental” to public services, citing examples such as employment and poverty initiatives, agreements for hydraulic projects or tourism infrastructure, funding for the care of migrant minors, and the €100 million allocated for the reconstruction of La Palma.
“Ultimately, this is simply about fulfilling the obligations that the State has to this region; a breach of such magnitude would lead to difficulties, I reiterate, in finalising the budget for 2024 and would severely compromise the budgets for 2025,” he highlighted.
Nonetheless, he stated that his administration “does not relent,” and all advisors are forwarding documentation and concluding meetings with the ministries to secure the transfers of the outstanding amounts.
“It appears that allocations are starting to come in, but it is crucial that before December 31 these resources arrive in the Canary Islands, as they are budgeted, and although the budget has been extended, the necessary legal procedures for this have been activated,” he explained.
The leader of the Nationalist Group, David Toledo, asserted that “the Canary Islands will not bow down” even though it has “always” been slightly more challenging to be understood “from Madrid” and with “political privileges” granted to the islands by major state parties that “never raise their voices.”
In this regard, he admitted to feeling “dislocated” by the “biased and contradictory messages” conveyed by the PSOE, which “turns off the tap in Madrid” whilst in the Canary Islands they “complain” about the regional budgets and maintain a “complicit silence” while offering “VIP treatment” to other regions.