Domingo Cejas, Minister of Water and Vice President of the Water Consortium, was this Wednesday on the program Buenos días, Lanzarote of Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero to clarify some issues about the current situation in water management on the island. During the interview, Cejas revealed that Canal Gestión has officially requested the suspension of the resolution process for a period of no more than three months to seek the transfer to another interested company, a path that the law contemplates as a prior step to the resolution.
"Canal Gestión has seen that this was not what they were expressing and now officially they have requested an entry record, since once we initiate the resolution procedure, it also gives the possibility for the company to transfer this contract to another company that is interested," explained the minister.
In this sense, he pointed out that it will be in the assembly next Monday when this official writing will be assessed. Cejas specified that "there are two writings presented, one on September 22 and another on the 26th.
As you may recall, around the month of April, information was given about the interest of some companies in taking the reins of water management in Lanzarote, although "unofficially because we had no record of it."
Likewise, Domingo Cejas has emphasized the breaches of contract by Canal Gestión. "They had stated that in the first five years they would reduce losses to 30% and that is a serious breach, in addition to a series of investments that they had stated that they had executed and according to the reports we have, it was not fulfilled," he highlighted.
Interested companies
Despite the interest of some companies in taking over from Canal Gestión, Cejas explained that "some had opened that procedure and once we approved the initiation of resolution, the companies backed out." In this sense, the minister pointed out that "Canal Gestión was not giving in, now it has given in. The company said that they did not have to communicate anything and now they have done so officially."
In the case of interested companies, the minister has made it clear that "we will start talking, but with a guaranteed exploitation plan." "The important thing about all this is that the discourse of Canal Isabel II has changed radically because a year ago they came here very confident and said that we were not going to go anywhere and they have seen that we are protected by the law," he continued.
When asked if there is no possibility that water management will return to the hands of the Water Consortium, the minister has stated that they do not rule out that management will return to public hands if the transfer does not go ahead.
