In a newspaper interview he gave to Jesus Escobedo of La Verdad, Mario Martinez, President of Orihuela Chamber of Commerce, was quite clear in stating that Orihuela Costa is the true economic engine of the municipality.
But this is no surprise, as we have known this for years. He doesn’t mention, however, the overall state of Orihuela Costa, which is heading towards the worst summer on record, despite its increases in revenues although, yet again, this is increasingly being diverted to Orihuela city.
The propaganda machine of Orihuela council has been working in overdrive on telling us all how well the council and councillors are performing.
Firstly, why would you promote activities that you should be doing regularly? Also, you are highlighting the areas you have neglected, (which is all Orihuela Costa) but if you analyse most of their videos, the majority are shot from outside Orihuela Costa.
When you speak to the citizens of the coast, not a party member, a supporter of any party or even certain associations, the overall consensus is that the coast is getting worse, not just isolated pockets but the whole of the Coast. We are heading into the worst summer on record, even worse than last year.
A question that needs an answer is ‘where are all the Alcalde Pedáneos who were presented after the 2023 elections? Have they been in hibernation? Have they actually been out and about and reported back to the Mayor Vegara as to what is happening? Do they actually know anything about their areas? What have they done, if anything, to improve their area apart for turning up for regular photo shoots’?
Put all this together and what it tells us is that they know they are losing their grip on Orihuela Costa. Within 10 years, the population of Orihuela Costa will be as big as all the other 26 towns and villages in the area put together, so the balance of power is coming our way.
The days of the council viewing us as their cash cow, beheld only as a valuable source of revenue for them to come and plunder at their whim, will slowly draw to an end.
We have the councillor for the Coast, who is also our deputy Mayor, Manuel Mestre, who has made it clear about his ambitions to Improve Orihuela Costa, to bring it back to its former glory.
We can’t fault him for his vision, but the problem he is facing is from his coalition partner, Pepe Vegara and the Partido Popular, who are not living up to expectations and the promises they made in the run up to the municipal elections, especially the councillor for environment, waste management and festivities, Mrs Ortuno Cartagena, whose qualifications and skillset is vastly inadequate for one of the major positions on the council.
But the question fir Manuel Mestre – is he raising his concerns to the right people or are the go-betweens simply making his position difficult to manage?
He should not only privately, but also publicly, be berating these people for failing in their duties. Laziness, incompetence, inability and especially nepotism are just a few illustrations being used to describe our town hall.
They simply don’t have the capacity to manage a city council of this size in a professional capacity.
We were told regularly by our previous mayor Sr Bascuñana and now by Sr Mestre that we are living in paradise. I would say that 2024 is turning into a living nightmare!
