The Councilor for Social Services of the Arrecife City Council, Emilia Perdomo, has urged the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Paulino Rivero, to "fulfill his promises" and pay the residents of Argana Alta the committed subsidy during his visit to the island of Lanzarote after the heavy rains that hit the capital municipality last January.
The councilor has reminded Rivero that more than a month has passed since the files prepared by the Social Services technicians of the damages caused to the homes of those affected were entered in the registry of the headquarters of the Presidency of the Government, on the island of Tenerife, "as mandated by Rivero himself to the Arrecife City Council, without the residents having received a single euro so far", according to a statement issued by the Arrecife City Council.
In this regard, Perdomo has assured that her department has already done all the work, visiting each of the flooded homes and preparing the files of the families affected by the rains, as well as quantifying the aid committed by Paulino Rivero, "which amounts to 500,000 euros".
Emilia Perdomo also does not understand why the Department of Social Welfare of the Canarian Executive knows nothing about these aids when the Department of Social Services has asked about them. "We do not understand why both the Presidency and Social Welfare say they know nothing about these aids, when it is a subsidy committed by Rivero during his visit to some streets of the Argana Alta neighborhood, and in which he was accompanied by some members of his government", she stated.
71 files
"The President of the Government committed at that time to provide financial aid to those people who could demonstrate the damages to both homes and furniture and belongings, and who had low incomes", recalled the councilor, who insisted that the next step "is the payment of these subsidies by the Government".
Perdomo has assured that a total of 71 files have been sent to the Government of the Canary Islands. "These documents have been sent to the Presidency for more than a month, along with a letter in which we request to know the characteristics of the aid, which we have also sent to the Cabildo, without having received a response so far", she insisted again.
Credit modification
On the other hand, the Councilor for Social Services has reported that next Monday the credit modification to allocate a budget of 350,000 euros to the co-financing of the Argana Alta drainage network expansion project will be taken to the Finance Committee of the Arrecife City Council. "That same Monday, the plenary session will be convened to definitively approve said budget, fulfilling our commitment to the residents", she indicated.
The councilor explained that the money will come from the budget that the Island Water Council has allocated to Arrecife and has expressed confidence that the Canarian Government will also contribute its share to the works, "because it has not done so so far either". Perdomo has also taken the opportunity to demand that the Canarian Executive resume the works that are being carried out in the capital for the evacuation of rainwater, "which will mean, once they are completed, the solution to the flooding problems of Arrecife".