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THE INDEPENDENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER WITH LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS
FRIDAY 25th NOVEMBER TO THURSDAY 8th DECEMBER 2016 TV GUIDE
MOVIES AT ...
PAGES 25 -32
EDITION 564 FORTNIGHTLY SUPPLEMENT F
property p
PAGES 49 -56
guide
Photos by Gerard Zenou
FURY AT NEW SOUTH HOSPITAL DELAY AS SANCTIONS CALLED FOR
Payment dispute holds up building work again!
C
OUNCIL leaders in Arona and Adeje have erupted in fury over revelations that work on the long-awaited south hospital is being held up again after the construction company downed tools over a payment dispute. They want the Government of the Canar y Islands to urgently intervene in the matter and warn the firm that they
coud be fined if they don’t meet their obligations. The Mayor of Arona, José Julián Mena says this has to be
done with “rigour and speed” to make sure there is “not even one minute of a delay” because of the importance of finishing the infrastructure at El Mojon. The latest row in the 20-year hospital saga concerns the amount the firm finishing the third phase, due to be
Multiple raids at cigarette shops
P
OLICE have carried out more than 70 raids on retail outlets in both Tenerife and Gran Canaria as part of an ongoing operation against illegal cigarette sales.
Thirty shops were targeted in Tenerife and 40 iin Gran Canaria where tobacco was seized. The operation was carried out by the Canary Tax Agency and the Fiscal Operative Group of the Canary Police. The tobacco confiscated did not comply with the fiscal regulations, in particular with the right type of levy. Director of the Canary Islands Tax Agency, Cristina Carnicer, said: “This type of action serves to avoid unfair competition between economic operators in the sector.” Police had detected irregularities in the tobacco tax and the sellers did not have the necessary documents for the circulation of the tobacco. The product also lacked fiscal stamps on the packs. Non-compliance with the rules can lead to an economic penalty, the temporary or final closure of establishments or the sealing of cigarette vending machines. Cristina Carnicer said the fight against tax fraud is one of the priorities of the Canary Islands Government.
completed by next March, is to be paid. The contractor originally put in a tender reportedly for 7,954,106 euros (2,597,914 less than the amount contained in the bases) and a period of execution of 19 months (rather than the 30 months on the specification). But now it seems as though the firm got its sums wrong and under-estimated how much it would cost to provide the extra facilities at the south hospital, including a new ward and four operating rooms, as well as three delivery rooms. Sr. Mena has described the stoppage as “disgusting” and says the infrastructure is the most demanded in the south. “These are basic and public
services that we defend at all costs, so we ask the Government of the Canary Islands to act with forcefulness, rigorously, but always within the legality,” he says. The two Mayors insist the company fulfils the economic conditions and the terms stipulated in the contract or face being sanctioned. Adeje’s Mayor, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga said everyone was totally tired of the saga surrounding the hospital and also stressed that the work had to be completed by 2018. “You cannot waste a minute in an infrastructure that is essential for this area of the island,” he said. The company Sacyr is reported to be calling for an
increase of ten per cent in the budget. There are reports that their contract has been terminated but the way ahead is unclear ie do they finish the job or does a new tender have to be invited? According to director of the Canary Health Service Roberto Moreno, the firm has only executed 7,000 euros of the planned investment, which amounts to 7.9 million euros. The Ministry of Health has opened a resolution file for breach of contract and the company ’s claim period expires this week to justify the increase in the agreed amount.