Given the controversy surrounding the purchase of salt by the Cabildo of Lanzarote for the elaboration of the traditional carpets that are made on the occasion of the Corpus Christi festivity, the Government Group has sent a press release to the media in which they clarify that "it has always been the will of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, at least since the year 2000, to collaborate with the town councils so that they in turn distribute the salt to the groups and associations that contribute to this traditional and culturally rooted festival on our island."
They continue pointing out that "this year the Cabildo has once again collaborated with this activity by contributing 73 tons of salt that have been distributed to the seven councils (11 tons for Tías, 6 tons for Yaiza, 9.5 tons for Haría, 9.5 tons for Tinajo, 6 tons for Teguise, 11 tons for San Bartolomé and 20 tons for Arrecife), thus attending to the demand required by each of them"
According to the statement, theCabildo has an estimated and limited budget of around 11,000 euros for this purpose, similar to that of previous years. In recent years, the Corporation has always bought the salt in Lanzarote and that was initially, as every year, its intention and will, but "after asking the two active salt mines on the island for a budget for the acquisition of the salt necessary to cover the demand of the groups and associations of each municipality, they offered budgets of 300 and 420 euros per ton, without VAT."
They also explain "that last year 67 tons were acquired at a price of 130 euros per ton from the same company that this year, after the change of ownership and after much negotiation, finally offered the aforementioned 420 euros per ton. In other words, it went from 130 euros to 420 euros per ton of salt, more than triple and after negotiating the prices and being these exorbitant with respect to those of last year, the Cabildo opts to ask for other budgets from two other Canarian companies. One salt mine from Fuerteventura and another from La Palma. The one from Fuerteventura offered 200 euros per ton and the one from La Palma 280 euros, without taxes or transport, although neither of them had availability to cover the Cabildo's demand."
Given these facts, according to them, "the Cabildo opts to ask for a budget from companies in the peninsula. The budget received was 70 euros per ton, compared to 420 and 300 euros per ton for the price of companies in Lanzarote. That is, six and four times less than these." Therefore, "the Cabildo of Lanzarote acquires the 73 tons of salt from the peninsula for an amount of 5,110 euros, with a total cost with taxes and transport of 11,200 euros that adjust to the amount demanded by the town councils and to the economic item arranged by the Cabildo for this purpose.That buying the 73 tons from the two island companies would have resulted in a cost of 22,557 euros or 31,579.80 euros for the Cabildo.That even including taxes and transport, the offer from the peninsula was 11,357 euros cheaper than the cheapest on the island."
However, the First Institution wanted to "clarify equally that the salt acquired is for the use to which it is going to be destined, to color and subsequently discard, and has nothing to do with the extraordinary quality of the salt produced in our salt mines, which is of high quality, recognized inside and outside our archipelago, and hence the price is necessarily higher." "That it is precisely this Corporation that is promoting the revaluation of the products of the primary sector, promoting in turn the consumption of the products of the land, through various initiatives, such as the guarantee and quality brand 'Saborea Lanzarote' that tries to encourage and value these products. Regarding the extraordinary quality of the food salt that is produced in the two active salt mines on the island, work is also being done so that very soon it has a new guarantee and quality brand, also contributing to the sustainability of these natural spaces."
On the other hand, given the criticisms of certain political formations in this regard, the Cabildo has indicated that in terms of "favoring local products in contracting", to inform - in case it is unknown - that the Contracting Law is the same for all of Europe and the communities of the Spanish State. This administration cannot "rig" its criteria in this sense and any company from the Canary Islands or the peninsula can present itself in any public competition of the administration. Furthermore, the Cabildo is subject and obliged by Law, by the Budget Execution Bases, to request three budgets and adjust, among other scoring criteria, to the most economical offer. However, within the margin allowed by the aforementioned Contracting Law, as occurs in all administrations, this Government Group has tried to promote local production and companies on the island.
Finally, the Government Group adds "that with this acquisition it simply intends to continue maintaining collaboration with groups and associations in a cultural tradition strongly rooted on the island, with a reasonable economic item that complies, as every year, with the demand requested by them."
