José Valle, to the Vox councilor who wants to create a parallel Chamber of Commerce: "He opines without preparing himself"

The president of the Chamber of Commerce of Lanzarote, José Valle, spoke this Monday morning on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero to respond to the insular counselor of Vox Óscar Pérez, who proposed during the last plenary session of the Cabildo to create its own Chamber of Commerce from the institution and to disassociate it from the current one, linked to small and medium-sized entrepreneurs on the island.

In his speech at the insular plenary session, Pérez indicated that the Chamber of Commerce was "one more member, or an arm or a finger" of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and assured that it was better to create its own body from the first insular institution to which subsidies would be contributed.

Valle has responded to these statements on the program Buenos días, Lanzarote and has assured that it has caused him "consternation" to hear "a leader of the Cabildo, who opines without preparing the topics".

The representative of the Chamber of Commerce has assured that the latest subsidy, to which the Vox member refers, is endowed with 1.38 million euros, 85% from European funds and 15% from the Cabildo of Lanzarote. This co-financed program will be destined for Vocational Training, advice for people over 45 years old in their job search, and unemployed youth.

"We have obtained European funds, which are constantly returning money and, in this case, not only is it not returned, but programs of high qualification are applied," he continued.

The highest representative of the Chamber of Commerce of Lanzarote has interpreted these statements as a proposal to end the organization he directs and replace it. "What he wants is to create a parallel Chamber, I think that is neither the task of a Cabildo nor a counselor right now," Valle added.

Thus, he invited the representative of the far-right party to visit the Chamber if he needs information and to "find out a bit about what a Chamber of Commerce is" and "what" is being done in it.

"What cannot be and it bothers me quite a bit, because it is the second time he has done it, is that an institution that is twenty years old is being questioned," Valle continued indignantly. The representative of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs has defended that the Chamber of Commerce "is an asset of the island of Lanzarote, whoever presides over it" and recalled that it took many years to disassociate itself from that of Gran Canaria.

Regarding the work carried out with public grants, the representative of the Chamber has indicated that this "is a public law corporation and we can agree with all public administrations". The representative added that "all the programs we have today and that we are developing are tools for the business sector, for innovation, for our self-employed".

In this regard, he pointed out that the latest projects that are on the table, financed with European funds, allow for the financing of employment plans. "Since I arrived at the Chamber, a public-private collaboration has been developed that is possibly unprecedented, which they use as an example for me at the Chamber of Spain," he added.

"We are giving tools to all our residents, to all our companies," Valle maintained. Thus, he indicated that he will not stop working: "I wish I could run faster than I do, but I also need structure and I need a series of means that I have to go little by little, all my trips to Brussels are not to go eat mussels in the Plaza del Sablón, it is precisely to bring these types of agreements."