CC Files Transparency Complaint Against La Victoria Council Over Withheld Documents

Coalición Canaria (CC) in La Victoria has complained to the Commissioner for Transparency, stating that the local government is "constantly and unfairly withholding information." The party says the council has spent over five months stopping the opposition from seeing important documents, which are vital for residents and for the opposition's job of keeping an eye on things. Román Afonso, the party's local secretary in La Victoria, says this action is to make sure the City Council follows the law.

Afonso says this "systematic blocking" is more than just poor administration; it's a clear breach of several laws. These include the Canary Islands Municipalities Law, which says documents must be provided within five days; the Administrative Procedure Law, which governs how public officials can access files; and the Transparency Law, which allows up to 40 days for information requests to be answered – a deadline that has been far exceeded here. "This is not a simple delay: it is a deliberate blockage," he adds.

Since July, Coalición Canaria has officially asked for several "key documents" about how the town is run. These include money the council collects from fees, changes to the town square construction, all records for the local nursery, grants for renovating private homes, and declarations of assets from the mayor and elected councillors. However, even after asking many times, "the Mayor's office hasn't replied, leaving the opposition completely in the dark and without information," says CC's local secretary.

This problem is made worse because they won't hand over "sensitive" files, like those about the town square construction or how the local nursery is managed. Coalición Canaria is especially worried about a refund of over 110,000 euros. This money was paid back because of building flaws and overpayments to a private company that did some of the work, at a time when the current mayor was a councillor. Román Afonso believes that by not providing these documents, it's impossible to check if legal rules were followed and if the council's work was done properly.

The complaint to the Commissioner for Transparency stresses that this scrutiny isn't about party politics, but is the opposition's official role to make sure public money is used correctly and that local projects are well managed. "When a government conceals information for months, it is weakening democratic control and damaging citizens' trust in public institutions," Afonso concludes.