HOW CORRUPT IS THE TOWN HALL?By David Eade
Although the legal profession in Marbella is mired by corruption and sleaze a lawyer in the town, José Cosín, has launched “El Corruptómetro” where people can check the standing and transparency of their local political parties and town hall.
He has used the template laid out by Transparencia Internacional – a NGO dedicated to combating corruption, which in Spain is headed by the respected lawyer Antonio Garrigues Walker. It establishes 33 questions that have to be answered to determine where the local parties and town halls stand on a scale of transparency and anti corruption.
The information can be accessed by the public by consulting the website at: www.corruptometro.es In the rankings for 2008 the city of Bilbao is the most transparent in Spain. At the foot of the list are Orihuela and Torrevieja who both receive a score of zero out of a possible 100.
Go to the website and you can check out Ronda’s score of 1 per cent for yourself. It also lists councillors that are deemed to be corrupt and gives visitors the opportunity to place their gradings.
THIRTY FIVE YEAR JAIL TERMS SOUGHT FOR POLICE IN PROSTITUTION CASEWhen the case first broke in February 2007 Ronda News rushed to get the report on to the website ahead of the copy deadline. Now over two years on the slow plodding progress of Spanish justice means that the five Ronda police officers accused of extortion are just finally being brought to trial.
The prosecutor is seeking jail terms of 35 years for the four National Police officers (including the former chief inspector in Ronda) and a Guardia Civil. They are accused of turning a blind eye to the use of illegal immigrants in brothels in the Ronda area and in return receiving sexual favours or money.
The brothel owners are also facing prison terms of six years for their part in the case and employing illegal immigrants. In addition the former boyfriend of a female judge could be jailed for a year because of his friendship with some of the officers involved which he used to influence the magistrate.
The investigation started in September 2006 with arrests being made in February and May of 2007. The spotlight was centred on three brothels in the Ronda area and a specialist internal police unit monitored the actions of the National Police and Guardia Civil officers involved.
It is alleged that payments of 500 euros a month were made by the brothel owners along with the provision of sexual favours. The Guardia Civil is accused of frequenting the clubs between 2003 and 2006, befriending the illegal immigrants with offers of help for which he received sex and also drugs. The drugs charge element in the case has now been dropped.
LEARN SCOTTISH
The Hotel Bandolero in Júzcar is staging a rather unusual event. From April 29 to May 3 you can attend a residential course on learning the Gaelic language and/or Gaelic Song. Costs range from between 495 to 512 euros and full details can be found on the dedicated website: http://www. http://www.fionamackenzie.org/Spain. Sassenachs please refrain from comment!
EROSKI LICENCE
Eroski has presented the documentation to allow it to start demolition work on the Ronda soccer stadium. It will form part of the site on which the company’s new commercial centre will rise – the biggest Eroski complex in Andalucía. The plans for the development have been opened to the public for comment. It is hoped that work on the site will start in May.
QUITING TIME
It is widely speculated that the mayor of Ronda, Antonio Marín Lara, will quit the Partido Andalucista this week and join the socialists. He had talked of joining the Partido Popular (but was rebuffed) but since PSOE became his coalition partners he has moved in that direction. As a parting shot the mayor has been highly critical of the “childish, anti-democratic” PA leadership.
NOT FAIR
The mayor of Ronda, Antonio Marín, has stepped in to stop the local business association, Apymer, from taking over the running of the May Fair. The event, the oldest in Andalucía, was cancelled by Marín with the money being spent on job creation. Apymer was intent on funding the 218,000 euros event itself but the mayor refused to give the project his backing.
NOT PAID
Work on the construction of 365 protected housing units in La Dehesa in Ronda have ground to a halt. The opposition Partido Popular claim that the cause is the non-payment of some of the sub-contractors. The town hall has admitted that the works have stopped and insist it is an administrative problem that has left 120,000 euros unpaid to the various contractors.
HAPPY EASTER
Ronda’s councillor for tourism, Isabel Aguilera, has issued the figures for the Easter holiday period. Hotel occupancy was 78 per cent over Semana Santa although this rose to 81 per cent on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday – three per cent higher than in 2008. The rural houses were completely full but for the restaurants the high numbers did not translate in to increased income.
