Having finally been given access to the mandatory information, the Socialist Party of Torrevieja has been inspecting several contracts promoted by the majority PP local government, and on Friday, an extraordinary inspection session was held in which several files were analysed in which irregularities were revealed, some of which could constitute crimes, according to the PSOE.
Levante Dam File
This file records the withdrawal of the procedure by the Council due to having made an error in the processing that has meant the need to start again, with the damages that this entails for the completion of the remodelling works of the port area and, In addition, it has involved the payment of compensation to the companies that participated in the tender, amounting to a total of almost 30,000 euro.
The socialist spokesperson, Bárbara Soler, requested responsibilities given that general directors were present throughout the entire procedure, politically appointed positions that earn around 100,000 euro per year and that would have demonstrated a total lack of diligence. Soler assured that the mayor stated in the previous plenary session that he would assume the responsibilities, but that he only says it in words, “let him start by putting in the 30,000 euro.”
Appraisal File for Rural Land
Another of the audited contracts is an appraisal of rural land that “has cost more than 16,000 euro for all Torrevieja residents.”
To verify how excessive the price is, the socialist municipal group showed three updated budgets whose amounts ranged between 600 and 1,200 euro. “We have paid 15 times above the market price, and, in addition, the appraisal does not present all the documentation that the contract requires as minimum content; There is no planimetry nor are the annexes filled out”.
The socialists insisted that, in addition, they are tasks that could be carried out by the Council’s own technicians for free, rejecting the decision of the General Director of Urban Planning to put out to tender the execution of this contract, alleging that the Council did not have sufficient human resources to do a valuation of a rural land, when the truth is that processing the valuation file takes much more time for town hall officials than having to carry out a valuation of land.
Likewise, Bárbara Soler analysed what is happening with the framework agreements, which although they were initially designed to speed up contracting and be more favourable for the Council, the truth is that in Torrevieja “they must be poorly made” because they are always slower and more burdensome, “they do not contain market prices as established by law and they leave the majority of companies in Torrevieja out of the possibility of bidding”. Finally, the spokesperson indicated that “it is a shame” that we have paid “€540 per page, and I am counting up to the cover, the index and the photo at the end.”
Punta La Víbora Project Files
Finally, two closely linked files were also audited. A contract whose objective was to present a study with different solutions to carry out the redevelopment in the Punta la Víbora area, of which one would have to be chosen and then carry out another contract for drafting said project.
Soler indicated that it was striking that the minor contract was classified as urgent and a two-month execution period was established to present the study, when it was finally presented to the Council a year and two months later. Furthermore, she was very critical of the fact that the solutions report “consists of 10 pages, 5 of background which is data provided by the Council and an internet article copied word for word, down to the photo. 17,000 euro.”
However, “the most serious thing,” according to the spokesperson, is that all the documentation presented includes the name of the General Director of Urban Planning appointed by the mayor, who is also the one who approved the contract despite the fact that it was presented one year after the end of the term.
“Who prepared the documents? “ It is a very serious fact. ”As if that were not enough, the drafting contract for the project that was to develop the alternative chosen in the study contract was awarded and delivered before the study documentation entered the Council, so “the previous study contract would have left without cause and we could be talking about fraud, contract simulation, misappropriation of public funds and directly corruption, all with the knowledge and consent of the mayor, who is also the urban planning councillor.”
It is a very curious fact that, although the first extraordinary plenary session was broadcast as usual on the Facebook platform, the second was not broadcast. “The mayor does not like criticism and even less so with all the documentation that supports the analysis of the files carried out by the socialist municipal group.” Finally, Soler has questioned the fact that the mayor did not respond to practically any of the issues raised “and what he did respond to, he did so with lies.”
