The PSOE opposition have asked the PP/Vox coalition government to create an all-party information commission on waste management, an initiative that was met with a refusal, they say, “without any further explanation”.
The memory of what happened the last time that waste was managed in Orihuela by a private company and the judicial consequences of the Brugal case, still very much a skeleton in the council cupboard, led to the PSOE move, which they hoped would open up the idea of them becoming a participant in decisions relating to the management of waste, particularly in view of the government’s current thinking of moving from municipalisation to “mixed management”, that is, with the participation of private capital.
“We must not forget what Brugal has cost, in addition to the severe damage it has caused to the reputational image of our city, 4.7 million euros of taxpayers money, for a decision that they then claimed, at the time, was political and legal,” said the socialist councillor, Isidro Grao.
He added that on these issues in particular, and despite the refusal of Partido Popular and Vox, the PSOO opposition will be very vigilant throughout the whole process.
The government has downplayed the PSOE statement saying that all decisions made relating to the garbage service “will be consensual and inclusive,” so they consider that creating a specific commission is not pertinent, “since these issues can already be debated in the meetings that are set up prior to the plenary sessions.”
