BY PETER HOUGHTON
The Residents of Orihuela Costa continue to have the perception that we are not citizens of the Municipality with the same rights as the rest.
We feel marginalized, abandoned, in fact we do not associate ourselves with Orihuela – and particularly when it turns out that we contribute more to municipal income than the rest of Orihuela combined, which serves to finance their fantastic salaries, festivities, events, services and infrastructure across the municipality, except on the Coast.
Orihuela Council does not care that their actions affect the everyday lives of the residents. They are not careful about what they say or do, everything is about them!
What can you do? Fight for the things that you care about. Don’t be distracted by emotions like anger, envy, resentment. These just zap energy and waste time. Every now and then it helps to be a little deaf from those voices from Orihuela.
Thursday, October 3rd was a black day for democracy. Several weeks ago, the opposition parties called for an extraordinary pleno specifically for Orihuela Costa with 13 points on the agenda, in what was a deliberate attack on democracy.
The local government called the meeting with only a 3-day notice, and, also, instead of the usual time, it was called for 8am in Orihuela, thus making it difficult for any resident from the coast to attend. Those who did had to get up very early to make the 35km journey.
The plenary session should have been held in the Town Hall of Orihuela Costa, where there is a hall with more than enough capacity. The audiovisual facilities required for live broadcasts of the plenary sessions needed to be added, but the thought of coming to the coast and facing the residents was obviously a no no.
The council will try to spin it in a way that they had no choice but to call it on that day and time. They have no fear of infringing our civil rights and try to silence us.
The best way to avoid disappointment from our Town Hall is not to expect anything! Crisis are not an excuse for inaction, but an opportunity for transformation, today that means offering an alternative to inequality, and without an effective/active opposition, you have no choice.
If you fight you won’t always win – but if you don’t fight you will always lose.
This why I am perplexed that there was only one association out of 11 that claim they represent the people of the coast. There was no representation from the local political parties at the meeting to speak up. Right now, there are only two voices screaming here Unidos (AVCRL) and the parents and teachers of our local school children.
Do they not understand that all the decisions, all the inactions that Orihuela makes and does. affects us all in our everyday lives. A united Orihuela Costa would be a formidable force, so why is it that others remain silent?
The final vote at the pleno was the vote of no confidence in the councillor for the coast Manuel Mestre. But the result was a forgone conclusion. It was 14 votes against 11 in favour on Sr Mestre.
In my opinion Mestre’s problem is that he is not being forceful enough with his coalition partner Sr Vegara in getting things done. He should be banging the table, demanding more action, and lambasting his colleagues for failing in their duties, which is making his position more difficult.
