The socialist party, in opposition in the Lanzarote Cabildo, has lashed out at the administration of Oswaldo Betancort, the island's president, for allegedly plunging the island into an unprecedented water crisis. The recent activation of the procedure to terminate the contract with Canal Gestión, a subsidiary of Canal Isabel II, has prompted the socialists to denounce the lack of direction and poor decisions made during Betancort's three years in charge of water management.
According to the PSOE, the initiation of this contract termination process is a direct consequence of a legislature marked by improvisation and the absence of a coherent strategy to address water supply, one of the island's most pressing issues. The socialists regret that the Cabildo president has "wasted three valuable years" and demonstrated a lack of vision, directly affecting citizens with recurrent cuts, obsolete infrastructure, and increased tariffs.
“"The decision to terminate the contract with Canal Gestión is three years too late and confirms Betancort's political failure."
María Dolores Corujo, secretary general of the PSOE of Lanzarote, a councilor in the Cabildo, and a deputy in the Congress, emphasized that Betancort's management has been characterized by a lack of planning and a reactive rather than proactive response. She criticized the president for failing to establish a clear roadmap to resolve the crisis, leaving Lanzarote in a constant state of chaos. Furthermore, she noted that persistent problems, such as water losses, supply cuts, and the collapse of the distribution network, have remained unresolved.
The secretary general also highlighted that the most serious aspect of Betancort's management was not only the lack of effective action but also the absence of foresight to properly address the legal and economic issues arising from the contract with Canal Gestión. In her opinion, decisions were not made with the necessary legal guarantees to avoid future claims and lawsuits, which could have negatively impacted the island's interests.
The PSOE recalled that this situation originates from the management model established in 2013 by Coalición Canaria in the Cabildo and the Water Consortium, which allowed Canal Gestión's entry. Socialists believe this model has resulted in an "absolute failure," with excessive water losses, insufficient infrastructure, and recurrent cuts, and they advocate for a radical change towards a public and transparent model, where water is treated as a basic right and not as a business.
