The Cabildo of Lanzarote has initially approved the budgets for this year 2024 in a plenary session held this Friday. Adding the autonomous bodies, the island accounts amount to 255,566,891.47 euros.
The approval was achieved with the favorable vote of the Government Group, composed of the councilors of the Canary Coalition and Popular Party, and with the vote against the PSOE group and the Mixed Group.
The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, stressed that these accounts respond to "the seriousness and honesty of this Government Group with the residents of Lanzarote." In this line, he added that "the Treasury Department, led by María Jesús Tovar, has done an commendable job to paint this historic budget for Lanzarote and La Graciosa, which will recover the trust and credibility lost in the last stage marked by false promises and little materialization."
The island's Minister of Finance and Contracting, María Jesús Tovar, stressed that this budget "represents an increase of 11.13% compared to the 2023 accounts." Therefore, she wanted to "congratulate all the workers of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and especially those in the Finance area, because with their effort and dedication they have managed to bring forward these record budgets for the benefit of the residents of Lanzarote and La Graciosa."
Social Welfare, 23% of the total budget
As indicated in the presentation of the budgets, without counting the autonomous bodies and consortia, it amounts to 189,320,779.84 euros, of which 23.71% corresponds to the area of Social Welfare. This percentage represents an amount allocated that exceeds 40,000,000 euros of annual budget, 6.3 million more than the previous year.
This percentage responds to the social needs demanded by the citizens of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, as well as the increase in important items such as in the Primary Sector: Agriculture and Livestock with an increase of 1.2 million euros compared to the previous year; Fisheries, with 732,725 euros of increase compared to 2023; Hunting with an increase of 217,000 euros compared to the previous year; and Food Sovereignty and Landscape, with an increase in resources allocated worth 371,230 euros.
On the other hand, the Cabildo of Lanzarote also reflects a commitment to Culture, Employment and the promotion of Public Works. Regarding Culture, it should be noted that it increases by 1,083,635 euros compared to 2023.
Regarding Employment, which increases 9.26% compared to 2023. In addition, regarding Education, the students of Lanzarote and Graciosa have 6% more budget that will be reflected in the increase of scholarships and study grants.
Likewise, from the Department of Public Works and Project Planning, the commitment to improving the island's roads and the execution of works continues, either through the Canary Islands Development Funds (FDCAN) or other funds from the Government of the Canary Islands or the State (European Funds), "considerably increasing the item allocated to this work," the Cabildo said in a press release without specifying data.
In the territorial area, the Cabildo of Lanzarote has increased the budget to carry out different projects such as the Special Plan for the Protected Landscape of La Geria, Plan for the Management of Natural Resources of Los Volcanes, Master Plan for Use and Management of Los Volcanes, Master Plan for Use and Management of the Chinijo Archipelago, and the Island Plan and Project of Insular Interest Congress Palace.
In addition, the credit in the budget has also been increased in areas such as Industry and Energy (almost 75% more in 2024); Crafts with a budget of 427,755.92 euros; Commerce with a planned credit of 551,675 euros or Animal Welfare with a forecast of 640,000 euros for 2024.
Budget of the Autonomous Bodies and Consortiums
The Cabildo of Lanzarote has, therefore, an accumulated budget of 255,566,891147 euros counting the different autonomous bodies and Island Consortiums.
Therefore, the Cabildo of Lanzarote, in addition to having 189,320,779 euros of budget for the year 2024, has a budget of 1,584,255 euros in the Island Water Council of Lanzarote and 4,680,000 euros of the Island Autonomous Body of Tax Management.
On the other hand, the EPEL - Art, Culture and Tourism Centers organization has a budget for 2024 that amounts to 36,286,299 euros, while the Security, Rescue and Fire Extinction Consortium has total accounts of 6,750,000 euros.
The Lanzarote Water Consortium has a budget for 2024 of 7,532,734.82 euros, and Inalsa has 13,748,352.60 euros for the current year.
Finally, the budget of Eólicas Lanzarote amounts to 2,404,623 euros for this year, and the Society for the External Promotion of Lanzarote has amounts that amount to 4,924,000 euros.