Unemployment rate falls, but is still at nearly 30% in Andalucía

72 Pages·2017·12.97 MB·English

FREE COPY
THE NEWSPAPER FOR The final
SOUTHERN SPAIN
piece in the
Official market leader defensive
Audited by PGD/OJD
January 27th to February 2nd jigsaw puzzle?
in English
2017
Defender Luis Hernández
joins on a three-and-a-half
News 2 What To Do 42
Comment 20 My Home 49 year deal from English
LHiefeasltthy l&e Beauty 3232 SCplaosrsti fied 5673 champions Leicester P59
Food & Drink 41 Pastimes 70
SARDINES GO INLAND British exodus
from the Costa
continues -
The Costa del Sol’s top chefs took the traditional
‘espeto’ to the Madrid Fusión congress latest figures
P41
The number of UK citizens
registered in Malaga
province has shrunk by a
third in three years
Loss of spending power, fiscal pres-
sure and ageing are just three of the
possible explanations for the decrease
in British nationals living in Malaga.
Figures from the Spanish Statistical
Office (INE) show that during 2015,
some 5,240 British citizens were re-
moved from the population register.
Brits aren’t the only foreign nation-
als leaving: the number of foreigners
on the ‘padrón’ in the province
dropped by 8,093. P14
Costa chefs Sergio Garrido, Diego Gallegos and José Carlos García, in Madrid with their sardines. :: SUR
:: SUR
Coast’s favourite
Unemployment rate falls, but is
porcupine can see
again following
pioneering cataract
still at nearly 30% in Andalucía operation
P10
Winter holidays with
snow and fire. Andrew
The EPA survey for the final quarter of 2016 reveals a Forbes heads to the
people of an active working age is
without a job. French Alps in this month’s
reduction in jobless figures but not an increase in job creation
On the surface the reduction of Travel special P20-25
24,400 unemployed in the province
giving a total of 190,000 is good
There was good news and bad news Spain, Andalucía and Malaga prov- months ago though the results serve news, the lowest total since 2008. The bid to oust the
in this week’s results of the EPA (ac- ince. The survey puts the unemploy- as a reminder that 28% of the active However, a closer look reveals that mayor of Alhaurín el
tive population survey). The quar- ment rate in Spain at the end of 2016 population in the region is still un- that the total active population fig-
Grande ends in legal
terly report, considered to be the at 18.63%, a fall of more than 2 per- employed. The province of Malaga ure fell significantly last year by more
deadlock amid nonsensical
best indicator of the real employ- centage points on the previous year’s fares a little better than the regional than the reduction in unemployed,
ment situation in the country, re- figure. The situation in Andalucía is average with a rate at the end of 2016 therefore the number of people ac- shouting match P3
vealed a fall in the jobless rates in still apparently better than 12 of 25%; in other words one in four tually working fell by 10,400. P3
A 40-year-old teacher in
Teacher held after Torre del Mar has handed
himself over to police,
confessing to child abuse admitting to at least five
incidents P4
NEWS
222222222222222 January 27th to February 2nd 2017
SUR IN ENGLISH
Real estate recovery sees surge in building
granted by the town halls. In Tor-
rox, 41 licences were given the go-
ahead, 51% more than the previ-
licences approved in Malaga and province
ous year.
Inland areas, meanwhile, are yet
to take off. In Antequera, building
licences were down 5% in number
last year, although the investment
Marbella lags behind in
involved in the projects launched
the figures for new was 61% up on 2015.
projects due to the
Marbella
annulment of its PGOU
Contrary to other towns on the
planning regulations Costa del Sol, the number of build-
ing licences granted in Marbella
fell by 11% in 2016. This drop, how-
:: JESÚS HINOJOSA
ever, is due to the unique circum-
MALAGA. The recovery of the stances in the town, following the
property market is starting to have annulment of the PGOU urban
a positive effect on town hall cof- plan at the end of 2015.
fers around the province of Malaga. Planning permission was
Last year the number of projects granted for 2,459 new projects in
requiring planning permission in- 2016, with a total investment of
creased and municipal planning 135 million euros.
departments have seen a rise in in- The councillor for Town Plan-
come from building licence fees. ning, Isabel Pérez, said that the fall
In the case of the city of Malaga, was not due to the construction
a total of 8,430 building licences sector slowing down. Instead, she
were granted in 2016, 6.3% more said there had been an increase in
than in 2015. The value of the the number of cases of planning
works involved in the approved permits (that had been awarded in
projects was 400 million euros in previous years) changing hands.
the city alone, explained council- A block of apartments under construction in Marbella. :: JOSELE-LANZA She explained that more building
lor Francisco Pomares, adding that projects had got off the ground in
this is the first time that the total significant increase in recent from 911 in 2015 to 1,629 last year, was especially noticeable in coastal 2016 than in the previous year. These,
investment for the year has been months has been in licences a hike of 80%. areas. Vélez-Málaga, Rincón de la however, were not counted in the
calculated. awarded for the construction of In the rest of the province, the Victoria and Nerja saw increases above figures as new permits did not
Pomares stressed that the most new homes. The figure went up increase in planning permission of around 10% in building licences have to be applied for.
Investment group buys 430
years, describing this country as “a
key area for our European strategy”.
holiday apartments in He also explained that the group
continues to seek more small and me-
Estepona for 32 million euros dium scale investment opportunities
to increase the presence of HIG in
this market.
Of the 430 apartments purchased,
:: LEANDRO PAVÓN chased by HIG amount to the equiva- 290 have been managed until now
ESTEPONA. The investment group lent of 46,000 square metres and by the Meliá group under the name
HIG Capital has bought 430 tourist come with facilities such as swim- Tryp Estepona Valle Romano Golf.
apartments in the Valle Romano area, ming pools, a gym, restaurants and This firm, however, has stopped
on the west side of Estepona. The padel courts. advertising the apartments on its
property deal, valued by sources close The buildings, 18 four-storey blocks, website and it was revealed on Tues-
to the transaction at 32 million euros, are located next to a 60-hectare golf day that the apartments would now
also includes 390 garage spaces, store- course. be managed by the Catalan group
rooms and 12 business premises. The managing director of HIG in Onahotels.
According to one of the firms that London, Riccardo Dallolio, pointed This group already manages the
acted as an adviser in the transaction, out that this is the firm’s seventh in- Ona Club Benavista apartments, also
Carlton Group, the properties pur- vestment in Spain in the last three in Estepona. Tourist apartments in the Valle Romano area, Estepona. :: SUR
January 27th to February 2nd 2017 NEWS 3
SUR IN ENGLISH
Opposition’s bid to oust Alhaurín el Jobless rate falls
across Spain but
Grande mayor ends in legal squabble survey shows
fewer people in
work in Malaga
The meeting, at which the
opposition proposed a :: SUR
MALAGA. Unemployment in
vote of no confidence in
Spain has dropped to 18.5%, ac-
the mayor, turned into a
cording to official figures released
nonsensical shouting on Thursday. Data from the Span-
ish national statistics office’s ‘En-
match on Wednesday
cuesta de Población Activa’ (ac-
tive population survey) shows
:: IVÁN GELIBTER
that there were 4,237,000 peo-
ALHAURÍN EL GRANDE. Anto- ple out of work at the end of De-
nia Ledesma is still mayor of Alhaurín cember, a fall of 541,700 from the
el Grande despite the opposition’s year before and the lowest
attempt to replace her with a no-con- amount out of work since 2009.
fidence vote on Wednesday. In total, 413,900 new jobs were
It wasn’t a question of the oppo- created in 2016.
sition groups not having enough However, despite this being
support to oust the mayor - in the the fourth consecutive year in
end the motion never reached the which unemployment fell, the
voting stage. decline was smaller than in 2015,
Instead, the two-hour-long meet- when there was a fall of 678,200
ing was taken up by complicated le- in the number of jobless and
galities with which the ruling parttyy,, 525,100 new jobs were created.
Por Alhaurín, attempted to prroovvee On a local level, unemploy-
the motion null and void. ment fell by 78,000 over the
The councillor whose voottee iiss past year in Andalucía. Despite
at the centre of the debaattee iiss TThhee ooldest and youngest councillors shout into their this, the unemployment rate
Mari Francis Fernández,, tthhee mmiiccrroophones. :: Á. C. remains at 28% of the active
only representative off tthhee population.
Partido Popular (PP) onn tthhee ggrroouup on Wednesday. in question spent some time shout-
council following the lasstt lloo-- TThhe other issue that added ing into their microphones as if the Malaga
cal elections (the rest off tthhee ccoonnffusion - and decibels - to one to make the most noise would Within Malaga province, unem-
PP members had joinedd PPoorr tthhee aalready heated session on get the vote. ployment dropped 24,400 in a year
Alhaurín). However, Ferrnnáánn-- WWeeddnesday concerned who The process continued, with nu- to 190,000, its lowest level since
dez’s decision to supportt tthhee wwaass actually in charge of the merous interruptions from the 2008. The unemployment rate
no-confidence motion,, ttiipp-- mmeeeetting. In the case of a mo- members of the public who at- now stands at 25%. However, a re-
ping the balance in favouurr ooff ttiioonn of no confidence in the tended the session, until the old- duction of 38,800 in the overall
the opposition, led to herr ssuuss-- mmaayyoor, the session is by law pre- est councillor considered the vote size of the active population
pension as a member of the PPPP bbyy ssiiddeedd over by what is known as the could not proceed and called the means that there are now actually
Antonia Ledesma gestures to
her provincial party chiefs. ‘‘mmeessa de edad’ formed by the old- meeting closed, with the support 10,400 fewer people working in
councillors to be quiet.
A non-binding report drawn uupp eesst and youngest councillors. In the of the secretary. Malaga than a year ago.
:: ÁLVARO CABRERA
earlier this week by the municipall case of Alhaurín el Grande, the old- The opposition groups have prom- In Spain overall, the number of
secretary stated that Fernández’s vote est is Francisco Guerrero (Por Al- ised that this will not be the end of households where all members of
would not count. The opposition haurín) and the youngest Marina the story and that they will let the working age and who are able to
groups argued, though, that the same Maldonado (PSOE). As the two were courts decide on the legality of the work were unemployed dropped
The youngest and
secretary had written a contradictory on opposite sides of the council rift, motion if necessary. by 50,500 in the third quarter of
report with a different conclusion in oldest councillors both there followed a debate as to which Meanwhile Ledesma, who already 2016 to 1,387,700.
a similar situation in 2013. of them held the casting vote in the promised a crowd of 500 support- In contrast, the number of
argued they should
Fernández’s move from her party, case of a draw, a point that is not es- ers on Sunday that the motion households, including single-per-
however, has not yet been formal- have the casting vote tablished by law. would not succeed, remains at the son homes, where everyone who
ised at a council meeting, so she was The secretary was unable to clar- helm of Alhaurín el Grande town is able to work has a job rose by
still a member of the municipal PP ify this point and both councillors hall. 60,700, to 9,883,600.
4 NEWS January 27th to February 2nd 2017
SUR IN ENGLISH
Teacher is held after confessing 112 REPORTS
to child abuse at town school
After a tip-off from a
distressed mum, the
40-year-old man was
caught by colleagues
behaving suspiciously The overturned lorry on Mijas Costa after it left the A-7. :: SUR
with one of his pupils
Driver rescued after a load of watermelons, which
:: ÁLVARO FRÍAS / JUAN CANO lorry flies off A-7 and were scattered onto the beach as
a result of the accident.
TORRE DEL MAR. A primary lands on Mijas beach Firemen, the Guardia Civil and
school teacher has been arrested in paramedics were soon on the
Torre del Mar after confessing to the MALAGA scene to help free the trapped 27-
abuse of five children at the school :: R.M. A lorry driver had to be year-old driver, who was transported
where he taught. The 40-year-old rescued from his vehicle after it to the Costa del Sol Hospital in Mar-
man has also been suspended from overturned on the beach near La bella with minor injuries.
the Custodia Puga school, where he Cala de Mijas early on Wednes- The right-hand lane of the
gave classes in a variety of subjects. day morning. Malaga-bound carriageway of the
Suspicions about the teacher’s be- The lorry veered off the A-7 at A-7 was temporarily closed as a
haviour arose in mid-December when kilometre 202 for an unknown result of the accident, before
the school received an anonymous reason and ended up on the opening again shortly before
phone call from a mother alleging The Custodio Puga school in Torre del Mar. :: A. P. beach. The vehicle was carrying 8am.
that her child had been abused.
School officials immediately acti- ever he returned to the police station ling. Parents have reacted with Two dead after Danish tourist dies after
vated established protocol, alerting shortly afterwards, confessing to at shock at the news that the teacher
microlight aircraft crash fall in Maro-Cerro Gordo
the school inspectorate, while plac- least five alleged incidents. has been arrested.
Cliffs nature reserve
ing the man under daily observation. The suspect claimed that he is ill, One mother at the school, Ana,
When the teacher was found with in need of psychiatric treatment and said, “My son told he that they had VÉLEZ-MÁLAGA
a girl alone in a corridor acting that the best place for him would be removed his teacher. It wasn’t un- :: A.P. / E.C. A man and a woman NERJA
strangely while the rest of his class in prison in order to get help. til [last] Friday when the school’s died after a microlight aircraft :: E.C. An 81-year-old Danish man
was inside the nearby library with management told me, as parents’ crashed near the La Axarquía aero- died on Sunday afternoon after
Support for children
the door closed, police were called. representative for that year group, drome on Thursday last week. falling from a cliff in a rocky area
After denying the accusations to Pupils at the school have been of- that he’d been arrested for abus- The 47-year-old woman, who of Las Alberquillas beach in the
police, the man was released. How- fered extra support and counsel- ing children.” was flying the aircraft as part of a Maro-Cerro Gordo nature reserve,
training circuit, and an unidenti- east of Nerja.
fied man, were killed after the air- The emergency services tried
craft crashed and caught fire on to revive the victim, who had
farmland almost 500 metres from been taking a walk with his wife,
the aerodrome. but he had already died when
they arrived at the scene.
Mother and son killed in Witnesses told SUR that the
couple had been staying in a mo-
Estepona car crash
tor home near the beach.
The fatality occurred in the
ESTEPONA middle of the nature reserve, a
:: N.C. A mother and son died af- site which many holidaymakers
ter a car crash in Estepona last Sat- and walkers visit throughout the
urday. year.
The woman, 65, and the man, This is not the first fatal acci-
38, lost their lives when their dent to happen in the area in re-
Citroën Xsara collided with a Ford cent years.
Escort in the industrial estate. Polish tourist S.R. Dawid, 25,
The 53-year-old man and 40- died following a fall onto a rocky
year-old woman in the other car zone near La Torrecilla beach in
escaped with minor injuries. April 2015.
Nine arrests made held. Police vigilance was stepped
following wave of car up several weeks ago after thefts
increased last November and De-
thefts in San Pedro
cember and some arrests were
made.
MARBELLA However judges released those
:: M. P. Nine people were arrested arrested last year within hours of
on Monday in connection with a them being taken into custody and
series of car thefts in San Pedro. the thefts continued into this year.
Sources close to the case say a Local councillor for San Pedro,
group of three repeat offenders Rafael Piña described the law in
caught in the act were among those this case as an “obstacle” to justice.
January 27th to February 2nd 2017 5
SUR IN ENGLISH
6 NEWS January 27th to February 2nd 2017
SUR IN ENGLISH
Cudeca celebrates 25
years of palliative
care in Spain
Joan Hunt thanks SUR in
who not only helped set up Cudeca,
English at anniversary but the woman who also cared for
Joan’s husband when he was ill with
launch for being the first
cancer.
newspaper to recognise
Joan said that the only thing she
the work of Cudeca with wanted to do was to spread the word
about Marisa’s wonderful work, so
an award in 1993
that other people could have the
benefit that she and her husband
:: TONY BRYANT had received.
BENALMÁDENA. Cudeca launched What began in a spare room in
its twenty-fifth anniversary year this Joan’s house in 1992 has turned into
week with a look back at its history. the only cancer hospice in Spain.
During a presentation on Wednes- The grounds on which the hos-
day, founder, Joan Hunt, reminisced pice now stands were donated by
about her dream and how it all came Benalmádena town hall in 1995. Joan Hunt (third from left) expressed her gratitude to the local media in Malaga. :: TONY BRYANT
together. Joan laid the first stone of the hos-
The meeting was organized to pice in 1997 and the building was ized in aid of Cudeca last year, and the media in Malaga for their con- said have supported Cudeca since
thank all of the people, whether me- finally completed in 2003. around 1,000 collection tins raised tinued support. they first began.
dia, fundraisers or sponsors, for their Joan said that she was not afraid over 50,000 euros. However Joan explained that her She expressed her gratitude to
help over the last twenty-five years. of hard work, but she could not have The foundation also receives more first press meeting, back in 1991, the newspaper for being the first
Also present were medical direc- succeeded without the help and sup- than 1,500 monthly donations from had terrified her, but she knew if to acknowledge her achievements
tor, Marisa Martin, director of fi- port of Marisa and Susan Hannam. supporters. The importance of these she wanted to move forward with with an award in 1993.
nance, Rafael Olalla, and nursing di- She also praised the work of the donors was emphasised by Susan Cudeca she would have to get used Looking forward to the future,
rector, Susan Hannam. volunteers, fundraisers and staff. Hannam. to it. Joan expressed her determination
Joan Hunt explained why she had Cudeca now has 5 home care “Fundraising and donations are “If you are not used to the press to continue supplying special care
first decided to open the hospice; teams who look after more than 350 a very important part of Cudeca, they can be very intimidating, but and attention to those who need
claiming that, “nobody could have patients. They have 18 shops, a ware- and without the generosity of the here I am today, brave enough to sit it.
known what was going to happen house and an outlet, and there are public, we would simply not exist,” here and talk to you all,” she said, She finished by saying, “Ambi-
25 years ago.” plans to build new day-care centres Susan explained. to the amusement of her audience. tion without action is only day-
She expressed her heartfelt grati- in other parts of Andalucía. She also highlighted the impor- Joan thanked the local media, es- dreaming, and we are definitely
tude to Marisa Martin, the person Nearly 170 events were organ- tance of media coverage and thanked pecially SUR in English, whom she not daydreaming.”
January 27th to February 2nd 2017 NEWS 7
SUR IN ENGLISH
Beaches to receive 4.1 million euros to Benalmádena park
gardeners strike
get into shape for the Easter holidays after they are
transferred to
other locations
Around 1.3 million
coastline and one of the last re-
euros will be invested maining traces of the municipal- :: A. GÓMEZ
ity’s mining past. BENALMÁDENA. Park garden-
in Marbella, including
The clean-up operation on the ers in Benalmádena staged a pro-
100,000 euros for the
tower will most likely start in May, test on Monday, claiming that,
restoration of the when there is a significantly re- for several months, some have
duced risk of storms affecting the been temporarily sent to work
Torre del Cable
coast or hindering the work. in other areas outside
The restoration will focus on the Benalmádena district. The deci-
:: MÓNICA PÉREZ upper part of the tower and will sion made by FCC, the contrac-
MALAGA. The central government include the removal of the paint, tor for the maintenance of the
has guaranteed that the beaches which has not been changed in a town’s green spaces, to transfer
along the Costa del Sol will be in number of years, as well as the re- three workers permanently to
“optimum condition” for tourists inforcement of certain parts which, Cádiz was a step too far for the
arriving for Semana Santa after al- due to their poor upkeep, could be workforce, who opted to strike
locating 4.1 million euros for emer- The Torre del Cable in Marbella is to be restored. :: JOSELE-LANZA a potential danger to bathers. with the support of trade union,
gency works which are needed af- Comisiones Obreras. The work-
ter the recent storms. ers are demanding that the trans-
A total of nine coastal munici- fers are rescinded, stating that
palities will benefit from the in- they will continue their protests
vestment, including Estepona, until this is done.
Manilva, Casares, Marbella, Fuen-
girola, Mijas, Benalmádena, Malaga Antequera given
city and Rincón de la Victoria.
Malaga MP for the Partido Popu- plot of land to
lar, Carolina España, stated that
improve area
the works along the Costa del Sol
“are very important for sun and surrounding
beach tourism, at a time when we
UNESCO site
are reaching historic numbers of
visitors.”
Torre del Cable
Marbella will receive around 1.3 :: A. J. GUERRERO
million euros of the total money, ANTEQUERA. The local coun-
with the eastern beaches getting cil in Antequera has been given a
repairs totalling 560,000, the town plot of land next to the Tholos del
centre beaches 520,000 and the Romeral, one of the three mega-
San Pedro Alcántara area 220,000 lithic tombs that make up the Dol-
euros. mens of Antequera. One of the
Central government has also al- conditions of being a newly-de-
located 100,000 euros for the res- clared UNESCO World Heritage
toration of the Torre del Cable, now Site is that the area surrounding
an iconic feature off the Marbella the tombs must be upgraded.
In response, the FYM Heidel-
berg Cement company has do-
nated a 1.27 hectare disused plot
to Antequera town hall. Mayor
Manuel Barón described the ges-
ture as “very positive”, praising
the partnership with private com-
panies in the town.
Fuengirola and
Benalmádena
coastal path link
moves one step
closer
Local and regional authorities at the works’ site. :: LEANDRO PAVÓN
Work begins on the road :: ALBERTO GÓMEZ
BENALMÁDENA. Fuengirola
between Manilva and Gaucín :: ÁLVARO CABRERA and Benalmádena councils have
started making plans to join the
BRENAN ANNIVERSARY STARTS AT GRAVE two municipalities with a beach-
level walkway. Two separate pro-
jects will be carried out totalling
:: LEANDRO PAVÓN test dating back nearly five years. To mark the 30th anniversary of the death of British hispanist Gerald 400,000 euros once the Junta ap-
MANILVA. The sound of diggers The minister of development Brenan, the cultural centre based in the writer’s former house in proves the designs. At the border
could be heard on the A-377 for the for the Andalusian government, Churriana launched the commemorations with a visit to his resting of the two towns a pedestrian
first time last Friday as work be- Felipe López, visited the site, an- place in Malaga’s English Cemetery. Carlos Pranger read a text writ- bridge will be built over Arroyo el
gan on the road which links the nouncing that the regional gov- ten for the occasion by Brenan’s biographer, Gathorne Hardy. Also Jardín and 700 metres of path will
village of Gaucín with the Costa ernment would be investing 4.34 present at the event were filmmaker Fernando Colomo, writer Harry be laid out along Carvajal beach in
del Sol. More than a dozen munici- million euros in the repair works, Eyres, Culture councillor Gemma del Corral, former SUR in English Benalmádena. When finished, the
palities had called for the improve- which are expected to be com- editor Liz Parry and director of the Casa Gerald Brenan Silvia Grijalba. route will form part of the prov-
ments to the road surface, in a pro- pleted in 12 months. ince’s long distance coastal path .
8 NEWS January 27th to February 2nd 2017
SUR IN ENGLISH
HERE AND THERE
Residents dramatic vote Public invited to enter Plea to regional
for new theatre facility film festival competition government over PGOU
Village to cash in as
wedding destination
RINCÓN DE LA VICTORIA VÉLEZ-MÁLAGA ALCAUCÍN
:: E. C. A new drama school in :: E. C. Registration is open for a new :: A. P. Mayor of Alcaucín, Mario
FRIGILIANA Rincón de la Victoria has taken its film festival in Vélez-Málaga, which Blancke, has asked the president and
:: E. C. Frigiliana council has an- first pupils since the project was set will show short films made by peo- spokesperson of the Ciudadanos party
nounced that it is to charge couples up after residents were invited to ple using their smartphones. The in Andalucía, Juan Martín, to medi-
50 euros for a civil wedding. Consid- vote on how 500,000 euros should festival, called ‘Corto&cambio’ (short ate at regional level in order to help
ered one of Spain’s most beautiful be spent in the town. The school is & change) aims to show life in move forward Andalucía’s general ur-
villages, Frigiliana has seen a growth based in the Sala de Las Musas in La Malaga province through the eyes ban plan (PGOU), which has been
in ‘wedding tourism’ recently and Cala del Moral and will be offering of its residents. Registration is open blocked for some time. The request
until now civil weddings have been classes to youngsters from the age to everybody until 20 February via came during a visit to the village by
free, except in the ‘Casa de la Cul- of six through to adults, under the www.velezmalaga.es. The winner Mr Martín last week. Mario Blancke
tura’, which charges 100 euros. Frigiliana’s famous steps. :: SUR direction of local actor Bosco Vida. will win 600 euros. is affiliated to Ciudadanos.
Waste water treatment
Former
administration in the province not
to have its own waste water station administration
and residual water currently goes
project recommences
directly into the sea without being ‘surprised’ by
treated.
accusations of
The project has been at the cen-
tre of controversy for Nerja’s town mismanagement
hall for some time and shortly af-
ter work started around Burriana
beach in February 2016, the com-
The town hall has closed pany responsible for building the :: EUGENIO CABEZAS
the two roads around station, Isolux-Corsán-Corviam, NERJA. The former Partido Popu-
ran into technical and administra- lar (PP) administration at Nerja
Burriana beach in order
tive difficulties. It was later ordered town hall, led by ex-mayor José
for the work to the main
to stop work in June 2016 as the lo- Alberto Armijo, has expressed its
pumping station to cal council considered it to be a “surprise” over investigations into
threat to tourism and local busi- mismanagement when the party
continue
nesses in the area which rely on was in power in the town. The in-
holidaymakers visiting the Burri- vestigations, which are being led
:: EUGENIO CABEZAS
ana beach area. by a court in Malaga, originate from
NERJA. Following a seven-month As well as the main pumping sta- a formal complaint made by the
delay, work has started again on tion near Burriana, other work that current coalition administration
Nerja’s waste water treatment sta- needs to be completed is connect- led by mayor, Rosa Arrabal (PSOE)
tion. As of last Thursday the roads ing the main depositors to the last November in which concerns
around Burriana beach, to the east pumping stations, of which another were raised over the alleged non-
of the town, have been closed to is located at the mouth of the Chil- charging of taxes to a number of
traffic, in order to complete work lar river, as well as one in Calle Di- local and regional organisations.
to the main pumping station which putación in the town centre. A se- According to the current admini-
is located in the area. Local residents ries of depositors were installed be- stration, religious groups and
are still able to access their garages tween 2009 and 2010 when work schools, as well as the Junta de An-
and parking areas, however other to pedestrianise Calle Carabeo took dalucía, appear not to have been
traffic is being diverted. Machin- place with money set aside for ur- charged taxes during the 2011-2015
ery can be seen operating in the ban planning by former Prime-Min- period when Armijo was mayor.
area, which has been fenced off. ister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. It is also questioning the theft of
Miguel Briones, Malaga’s central The waste water station has also documents from the town hall in
government representative, said in been the cause of a major dispute March 2016 as well as the clearing
an earlier statement that as long as between the current mayor Rosa of computer files after Armijo’s
there are no further delays, the sew- Arrabal and her coalition govern- party lost the June 2015 local elec-
age station should be up and run- ment and the previous administra- tions. The PP has reacted by say-
ning, “by the end of this year,” one tion over the issuing of licenses ing that Arrabal and her team are
year later than the original end date. for road closures leading to further worried about a “likely vote of no
Nerja is currently the only large A fence surrounds the area where the main pumping station will be:: E. C. delays in the project . confidence.”
January 27th to February 2nd 2017 9
SUR IN ENGLISH
10 NEWS January 27th to February 2nd 2017
SUR IN ENGLISH
Piercing the Porcupine sees again
stacles because he has regained so
much of his vision,” states Rosa.
Fidel Causse del Río, the person
who carried out the operation and
also the manager of the Animal Vi-
sion clinic in Madrid, has more than
A vet from Malaga performs a cataract operation on a porcupine for the first time ever
ten years of experience in veterinary
ophthalmology. Although it wasn’t
his first time operating on a wild ani-
mal, this particular case brought its
own difficulties. The first was that
there was no recorded case of eye sur-
gery on this species in the world. “It
IGNACIO
LILLO was a joint effort between the vets,
the park’s keepers and the surgical
 [email protected] team, especially as he needed eye
drops after the operation,” Fidel ex-
The 14-year-old animal
plains. The first step was to train him
that is part of an to allow Fidel to put the drops in. “We
educational performance had to show the keepers exercises to
calm him down because it is a very
at a local zoo, had
delicate operation and you have to
mobility issues due handle him carefully,” he adds.
to his blindness
A complex operation
Porcupines are one of the biggest ro-
MALAGA. He’s called Piercing, he’s dents around, but their small eyes
a porcupine at Bioparc Fuengirola and added another complication to the
he’s become the first of his species to surgery. The vet used phacoemulsi-
have a cataract operation, a visual fication, a technique which consists
problem which limits mobility and of breaking up the cataract through
is also suffered by humans. He can ultrasound, on the animal. However,
now see clearly again and has returned adjusting the technique to the seven-
to participate in a daily performance millimetre eyeball of the porcupine
put on by the zoological park. made the operation, which went on
Piercing was born at Bioparc Fuen- for two hours, more difficult. The vet
girola in Malaga in 2002 and is loved made a 2.7 millimetre incision into
by staff and visitors alike, according the cornea, through which he inserted
to his keeper and vet Rosa Martínez a tool to extract the opaque content
Valverde, who takes care of the ani- of the lens. A fine and absorbing ma-
mals with Jesús Recuero, the techni- Vet Fidel Causse del Río operating on Piercing to remove the porcupine’s cataract. :: SUR terial was then used as a suture.
cal director of the area. A porcupine’s For dogs, cats and many other ani-
life expectancy in the wild is around Nevertheless, Piercing’s case was ex- tropical rainforest, an extremely vul- as both pretend to hunt the other, be- mals, an intraocular lens is used to
15 years, but in captivity that figure treme as “he could barely see any- nerable ecosystem which we must fore Piercing manages to escape back replace the natural one, just like in
can double according to Rosa due to thing,” Rosa maintains. protect,” Rosa states. In the show, to his keeper. “Even with very lim- humans. With such a lens being too
the quality of dietary control and The porcupine is part of a show ex- Piercing walks in front of the audi- ited vision, due to his training Pierc- small to fit into his eye, Piercing would
healthcare that they receive in addi- hibiting different scenes of animals ence sat in the dress circle, in a scene ing was able to judge distance and have needed distance glasses had he
tion to the absence of predators. These in a jungle clearing to the public. “It recreating jungle clearings while he could roughly guess where every- not regained most of the vision he
giant rodents are strictly nocturnal is meant to teach the visitors about searches for food which the keepers thing was. Not only has his quality had lost. The final stage was to treat
animals that live in dens and there- different types of animals and to make put in various places. He then comes of life improved since the operation, him with the anti-inflammatory and
fore do not have very sharp eyesight. them aware of the importance of the across a serval, a wild cat from Africa, but he also no longer bumps into ob- antibiotic drops.