The deputy mayor of Arrecife and member of Coalición Canaria (CC), Echedey Eugenio, has firmly defended his participation in the recent Water Consortium Assembly, where the temporary seizure of the Canal Gestión service was approved. In an interview granted to Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero, Eugenio clarified the position of the Arrecife City Council, distancing himself from the guidelines of the Partido Popular (PP) and its island president, Astrid Pérez.
Eugenio's presence at the assembly, representing mayor Yonathan de León (PP), raised questions about a possible fissure in the government pact. However, the deputy mayor was blunt " the mayor could not attend due to agenda problems and he attended to maintain the seriousness and coherence that the capital has been demanding for three years in the face of constant supply failures."
"Institutions are not political parties. What Arrecife could not do, after three years of protests over water discomfort, is look the other way because of positions that go nowhere," affirmed Eugenio, calling Astrid Pérez's request to leave the decision on the table "whims".
A "devastating" technical backing
The capital representative stressed that the decision to intervene the service is not a political whim, but a measure endorsed by technical, legal reports and by the Consortium's own manager, whom he congratulated for a document he described as "devastating" regarding Canal Gestión's breaches.
Eugenio recalled that the "seizure" of a service is an ordinary legal figure that almost all municipalities on the island have already used in sectors such as garbage collection. As he explained, this process will allow that, once the period for allegations has ended, the Consortium names two auditors who will take control of the company ("command in place") to guarantee that water reaches the citizens.
The future of the pact and the criticisms of the PSOE
Regarding the stability of the pact with the PP after this clash of positions, Eugenio pointed out: "Coalición Canaria is not going to question a pact for doing what we have been saying we would do for three years: solve the water problem."
Nor did he spare criticism towards the opposition. He referred to the mayor of San Bartolomé, the socialist Isidro Pérez, who questioned his presence at the assembly. Eugenio reproached him for trying to act as a spokesperson for municipalities (Tías, Yaiza or Haría) over which he has no representation, reaffirming that his right as deputy mayor of the capital to defend his constituents is unquestionable.
Finally, given the threats of legal action by Canal Gestión, the councilman said that "I wish Canal Gestión would spend the money it spends on lawyers on hiring engineers and carrying out works to fix the water problem".