The Cabildo councilor and mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Noda, has requested "institutional respect" for the year 2026 from the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, via a press release.
"What is excellent news for Yaiza and the island of Lanzarote, such as the purchase of 76 protected homes in Playa Blanca, newly built and intended for affordable rental, has become a new demonstration of the institutional disrespect and the scarce democratic values offered by the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort," he points out.
"On the second to last day of the year, he released a press release claiming exclusive credit for the management of the purchase of the aforementioned homes in the south of the island, despite it being an initial idea of the mayor of Yaiza himself in one of the first meetings held with the President," he assures.For the mayor of Yaiza and island councilor, Óscar Noda, "this statement is very sad, like almost everything that passes through Oswaldo Betancort's hands, and he regrets that even after smoothing things over in a recent meeting, the Yaiza City Council is not mentioned even once in this new 455-word press release. The president of Coalición Canaria, because it's increasingly difficult for me to see him as the president of all the people of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, I refer back to the evidence, as he governs for his party and not for the citizens who elected him. We must have done something from Yaiza to ensure that the purchase of seventy-six protected homes in Playa Blanca has been possible for the good of our people."“Betancort no remembers his time as mayor and certainly ignores that he is president by 69 votes, which should serve him in exercising humility and generosity,” Noda continues, “they no longer respect institutions or citizens who do not vote for them. Short-sighted ignorance leads him to think that the Yaiza City Council had nothing to do with the purchase of the homes. Or worse, with one hand we close the agreement to collaborate jointly and with the other, and almost immediately after leaving the meeting, he sends this statement that blows up all hopes of finding a partner who will help and set aside political affiliations.""Even so, I will continue to show selfless collaboration to, as I have already demonstrated, help them whenever they require it, as long as there is a general interest. Who else has provided the land in their General Plan, even if it is private, or, even better, who has strived to expedite all the licenses that have been granted, because it is no longer just those seventy-six homes, but also ninety-six more homes have been granted," he continued.In this regard, Noda continues by saying that "the president, who ends up fiddling with the surplus to finish the year in addition to the fake press releases, since, apparently, there is so much money, should not forget the land that the City Council ceded in 2021 where one hundred and thirty-six more homes are going. Obviously, I am happy for the sake of the families of Yaiza, but, I repeat, do not forget the one hundred and thirty-six homes that are going on our plot which we already ceded four years ago.”"Furthermore, while I appreciate that contribution, I consider it a mistake to give a subsidy to the Cabildo so that the Cabildo itself buys them and then we run into problems again to have the inventory of assets updated, to then transfer it to the ICAVI (Canarian Housing Institute). It would be much more coherent, if they really thought about the people, that if the government has the money, the ICVAVI should buy it directly, as this would avoid another great waste of time, which is what really goes against the interests and needs of the citizens.""I am not going to break my word to the president from that recent meeting, and he will find my hand extended, but it has become clear again that the president of the Cabildo either has a faulty memory and doesn't remember what was agreed upon, or he is not interested in the citizens and their needs, nor in the town councils where his party does not govern. Instead, he continues to pour his effort into press releases with a somewhat malicious tone, somewhat disrespectful of other institutions, and there he will hardly find me in this 2026 that begins in Lanzarote and La Graciosa," concludes Óscar Noda.
