The Public Works Councillor of the Lanzarote Council, Jacobo Medina, addressed the recent press release from the Tías Town Hall on Wednesday during the programme “Crónicas en Hora”. The statement accused the Cabildo de Lanzarote of inaction, which forced the municipality to take over the management of the palm grove.
The councillor reported that a sanctioning file has been opened against the council for removing palm trees without the necessary authorisations from the Cabildo. “I cannot understand the position Tías Town Hall has taken concerning the palm trees in the insular area. I can inform you that the Public Works Department has documented the manifest irregularities carried out by Tías Town Hall. The procedure will continue, as I, as a public official, will not allow irregularities within the administration,” he stated, visibly annoyed.
Medina clarified that the Town Hall has removed private palm trees without the necessary reports from the Cabildo’s Environmental Department. “Firstly, they have eliminated private palm trees from the golf course under a partial plan in recent days. Furthermore, they have removed palm trees without the appropriate reports from the Cabildo concerning the Environmental Department. These are palm trees that are also part of the insular area; moreover, there are other palm trees that the Town Hall claims to have planted themselves. These palm trees fall outside my jurisdiction as a councillor since they are no longer part of the public domain,” he indicated.
Medina insisted that the council has not adhered to the law. “What is clear is that when actions are taken against the law or regulations, the administration must act. It is true that they were warned not to proceed with what they did, but they did it anyway. I obviously cannot tell the road inspector not to go there or not to document what he sees, as that would constitute a misuse of office. The reality is that palm trees have been removed from the insular area without the reports from Public Works and Environmental Departments, which has significant implications,” he asserted.
He explained that all necessary reports and permits must be in place to understand all procedures and avoid, for instance, contaminations of the palm grove by the diocalandra pest. “Removing a palm tree is not just a matter of going there, taking it out, and moving on.
In Lanzarote, removing a palm tree involves procedures because there is the diocalandra pest affecting the entire palm grove. If you remove a palm tree without the necessary Environmental and Public Works reports, it raises questions regarding the procedure, how the removal will be carried out, and so forth.
What if you move it to a location where other healthy palm trees are, and they become contaminated? The reality is that proper procedures must be followed. We are involved in politics; José Juan Cruz is a mayor who has been in politics his entire life and should know that actions against established regulations within the administration are not permissible,” he detailed.
The councillor highlighted that efforts are being made collaboratively with various municipalities to create joint plans. “They will have to explain themselves in the coming days, but the reality, and what is important, is that we continue to improve the road margins. At present, we have this service out for tender until 13 September, during which companies that deem it appropriate can apply for the renewal of the road margin services. We make planning with each and every municipality, and we engage with all of them,” he clarified.
He also expressed his confusion over the fact that the government led by socialist José Juan Cruz allowed this press release to be issued. “The mayor of Tinajo asked me to send work crews to clear the paths to Dolores, and indeed we completed that work two weeks ago. We have removed over 170,000 tonnes throughout the year, and I must categorically deny this attitude from the Tías Town Hall, particularly from its mayor, who has permitted this kind of nonsensical press release,” he criticised.
The situation surprised him, as there had been work carried out in the municipality in recent weeks. “I am surprised because the road margin team was in the municipality of Tías in those weeks. This team not only prunes palm trees but also maintains them in good condition. It is true that there are many dead palm trees along the roads in Lanzarote, but we are already working on that project with the Ecological Transition of the Canary Islands Government to remove all dead palm trees on the island,” he asserted.
During his radio intervention on Pablo García Díaz’s programme, Medina also announced that construction of the elder care facility in Tahiche would commence next September after more than four years of inactivity. “Now that we have secured cooperation for the high-demand care home in Lanzarote, we will begin construction in the municipality of Teguise next month,” the councillor revealed.
Since 4 May 2021, when the then President of the Canary Islands Government, Ángel Víctor Torres, laid the first stone alongside the former President of the Cabildo, María Dolores Corujo, and the Mayor of Teguise, Oswaldo Betancort, the project has faced delays. Efforts had to be made by the current Cabildo Government to recover funds that had been allocated after the socialist governments blocked the project. After four years, it seems that this much-needed work for the island is finally set to begin.
