Tenerife Public Bodies Face Criticism Over Failure to Respond to Citizen Inquiries
A new report from the Canary Islands’ Commissioner for Transparency reveals that while Tenerife’s public bodies excel at online data disclosure, they frequently fail to address direct citizen inquiries, with only 14.5% of complaints resolved in 2025.
Transparency in Tenerife’s public sector is a tale of two realities: while government websites are generally good at posting information, they are failing to actually respond to citizens. According to the latest report from the Canary Islands’ Commissioner for Transparency, most public bodies score well on "active disclosure," but this is undermined by a persistent culture of silence when residents ask questions.
The report shows that 29 of Tenerife’s 31 municipalities passed their transparency assessments, with Icod de los Vinos and Güímar being the only ones to fail. At the top of the rankings are Candelaria, El Sauzal, Los Realejos, Santiago del Teide, and the Tenerife Island Council (Cabildo). However, Commissioner Noelia García Leal has highlighted a concerning lack of engagement from political leaders; only four municipalities—El Rosario, Santa Úrsula, Arico, and Los Realejos—sent representatives to the agency’s training sessions.
The real issue is how these offices handle direct requests for information. In 2025, citizens filed 207 complaints, but only 30 were resolved—a response rate of just 14.5%. This lack of action is particularly notable in major areas like Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Arona, La Laguna, and the Island Council. To fix this, the Commissioner is proposing a change to the grading system: if an office ignores a citizen’s inquiry, it should lower their overall transparency score. The goal is to stop the current paradox where an entity can earn a perfect score for its website while ignoring the people it serves.
This lack of transparency extends beyond city halls. Smaller public agencies, such as the Isla Baja Consortium and the Puerto de la Cruz Archaeological Museum board, are struggling to meet their obligations. Furthermore, private companies receiving public funds are underperforming; out of 427 entities evaluated, 143 failed to submit any data, and nearly half did not meet basic standards.
This suggests that transparency is still being treated as a "tick-box" exercise rather than a core responsibility. While political parties, unions, and business groups have eventually met the required standards, it is clear that public bodies must do more to ensure that the management of taxpayer money is truly open and accountable.