TENERIFE DEMANDS FUNDING GUARANTEE FROM MADRID

SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Friday February 26

TENERIFE'S Cabildo government accused Madrid of reneging on regional funding promises on Friday.

by JAMES TWEEDIE

Friday's Cabildo meeting voted in favour of a motion from Cabildo second vice-president and PP spokesman Antonio Alarcó, urging the national government to clarify the exact funding for the Plan Canarias scheme at the next meeting of the plan's monitoring committee at the end of March.

The island's ruling Canarian Coalition-Popular Party alliance has accused prime minister Jose Zapatero's Socialist Party government in Madrid of failing in its investment commitments to the region.

Plan Canarias, approved in October by the Council of Ministers, specifies funding of €25 billion over 10 years with €10 billion guaranteed in the first four years.

But the CC-PP alliance claims that a report by the the regional executive's budget directorate shows a funding shortfall.

Mr Alarcó said: "the aim of this plan was none other than to put the Canaries at the average Spanish rate of employment, education and per capita income and to bring real investment to the Canary Islands.

"The government of Jose Zapatero has deceived all Canarians, falsifying figures which should be in addition to new investment and not the sum of previous investments.”

The official unemployment rate in the Canaries is 26 per cent – and may be as high as 30 per cent – compared with just under 20 per cent nationally.

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