Margalida Duran, spokesperson for the PP in Palma.

Margalida Duran, spokesperson for the PP in Palma. | Archive

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma12/11/2015 00:00
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Margalida Durán, the spokesperson for the Partido Popular, has criticised the fact that the more than 16 million euros required to complete Palma's Palacio de Congresos have not been accounted for in 2016 budgets. Speaking to the media today, Durán, the leader of the PP opposition at the town hall, wondered whether either the regional government or the town hall wanted to finish the construction, and she expressed her concern at the fact that the director of the Palacio company has said that, for each month that it remains closed, some six million euros are lost.

"Neither the government nor the city's council can say how it will be financed," she said, before moving on to criticise the administration for not having published accounts for the third quarter of this year. "We have no information regarding budgetary and financial stability for the quarter," and she added that she has called for there to be a finance committee meeting this coming Wednesday.

"Once more they show a lack of transparency," she said. "Is this the transparency they said they would have and the citizen participation that they wanted?" She also referred to the fact that the town hall's budgets for 2016 were still unknown and that there had been a promise of participation in their drafting.

The PP will also be rejecting the increase to prices for car parking, as it is "outrageous that the charges are rising in a disproportionate manner for all the car parks". In this respect, she noted that the Antoni Maura (Cathedral) car park will have a three-euro tariff in summer but insisted that this will not put an end to traffic problems on the Paseo Marítimo. In her opinion, this was a measure that reflects the eagerness of the town hall to collect taxes and one that will affect not only tourists but also many people in Majorca. She added that the PP will be asking that there be a reduction on car park charges in order to assist businesses during the Christmas campaign.

Finally, on the subject of the terraces on the Born, she expressed her opposition to their being placed on the side road, saying that there is no problem with where the terraces are and that the town hall was creating a problem where none had existed.