The PSOE of Lanzarote has harshly criticized the recent award of more than 3.5 million euros by the Cabildo, presided over by Oswaldo Betancort, to a newly created private consultancy, a decision that "contrasts scandalously with the lack of investment in truly strategic areas for the future of the island".
The councilor of the Socialist Group, Benjamín Perdomo, has described it as “incomprehensible” that such “high figures are allocated to a company without a known track record, while projects of greater depth and significance such as the PIOL Office, key to planning the territorial and urban future of the island, barely have an investment of 1.2 million euros”.
“The problem is not only how much is spent, but what it is spent on. We find a millionaire award to a consultancy without a track record, while essential public policies are left unfunded,” Perdomo pointed out.
By way of comparison, the PSOE highlights that the Government of the Canary Islands has just signed an agreement with the two public universities of the Canary Islands and the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), with an investment of 4.1 million euros that will allow for 63 researchers, 19 of them young people newly hired. “It is an investment backed by prestigious academic and scientific institutions, with clear objectives and qualified technical profiles,” Perdomo pointed out.
On the contrary, the PSOE regrets that “the award made by the Cabildo is not accompanied by serious planning or solid technical support, and considers it at least striking that a newly created company receives a contract of this size”. “We don't want to think badly, but you won't deny us that it is too much of a coincidence. And what is not a coincidence is the way in which public money is spent without a clear direction,” the councilor denounced.
In addition, Perdomo recalled that during the socialist management, strategic studies of a much lower cost, about 300,000 euros in total, were commissioned to entities of recognized prestige, such as King's College London or a specialized aeronautical consultancy, to address the recovery after the pandemic. “Then we were harshly criticized. Now they spend ten times more without clearly explaining what for, and without seeing an improvement in the real problems of the island,” he adds.
The PSOE insists that the great challenges of Lanzarote “continue to be unaddressed: recurrent water cuts, housing emergency, tourist pressure on the territory, etc. There are already studies that clearly say that we are at the limit. There is no need to continue commissioning consultancies, it is necessary to act,” Perdomo concluded.
