The mayoress of Mijas, Ana Mata (PP), appeared this morning, accompanied by Juan Carlos Cuevas (Vox) and Juan Carlos Maldonado, first and second deputy mayor, respectively, to evaluate her first 100 days at the head of the Mijas Town Hall.

Mata stressed that, since she took office on November 2nd, her priority has been to bring "order, transparency and rigour" to the Town Hall, and that, as she had expected when she took office, "we have found a Town Hall that was completely paralysed due to the negligence of the previous local executive". 

The government team recalls that it warned in the plenary session held on November 29th of the "existence of almost 2,000 unpaid invoices amounting to almost 16 million euros". "As of today, the number of outstanding invoices has decreased by 752, with 5,172,000 euros having been paid", explains the government.

Payment to suppliers

"The Mijas Town Hall cannot afford the luxury of not offering confidence to suppliers and institutions and must be an example of good management", says Mata. In this regard, she has stated that the previous government team "was very much in breach" of the average payment period, far from the 30 days established by Law: "I guarantee you that Mijas will return to the path of legality", the mayoress has stressed.

Budgets

Ana Mata also wanted to emphasise that the Budget for this year has already been approved, which was carried out before the end of the year, something that has not happened since 2018, she said. Accounts drafted "in record time that reach 130 million euros, which translates into an increase of more than 16% with regard to those carried over from 2022". In the document, the Executive recalls, more than 7.6 million euros are allocated to social investment, 11 million for infrastructure and 2.5 million for Town Planning, "without this entailing a tax increase".

Town Planning

With regard to the area of Town Planning, Mata detailed that since November 1st, 1,311 declarations of responsibility, 50 licences for minor works and 80 prior authorisations have been granted. 

In relation to major building permits, 29 have been granted, which means, adds the executive, that "the council is up to date with all licenses of this type that already had favourable reports". "In addition, we are working on a specification to eliminate duplicated and unnecessary processes in order to make the granting of licences for major works more flexible", said the mayoress.

In this regard, explains the local government, the creation of the Municipal Register of Collaborating Entities "has been decisive", an "essential" procedure established in the Law for the Promotion of Territorial Sustainability in Andalusia (Lista), whose general regulations were approved by the Andalusian Regional Government in November 2022 and which, since then, "Mijas Town Hall had not complied with". 

This requirement is "essential", explains the government team, for example, to alleviate the bureaucratic burden of certain procedures, "such as dispensing with the unnecessary topography report" for the responsible declarations of first occupation, which meant that "there were more than 50 files pending approval". To date, 14 licences of first occupation have been granted (some requested in 2021), which means, municipal sources stress, "that all licences with favourable reports are up to date".
"Not forgetting the recently approved land innovation, an essential requirement to be able to undertake the works for the improvement of the entrance and exit of the Osunillas neighbourhood, and which will allow the implementation of the tender for the works", says the Executive. 

To all this must be added, according to sources from the Town Hall, "the meetings held with the delegates and technical managers of the Andalusian Regional Government to promote the pending sectoral reports (culture, water and environment) to be able to move forward with the health infrastructure, as well as the unblocking and payment of four expropriation files, the oldest of which dates back to 2016".

Infrastructures

With regard to infrastructures, Mata has detailed that modifications have been made to the car park projects for Mijas Pueblo and has indicated as a priority the extension towards the Virgen de la Peña square, which will mean an additional 618 parking spaces. She also reported that talks are being held with the Regional Government of Andalusia's Culture Department to unblock the extension towards Fuente de la Seda. 

In addition, the mayoress added, the study of the extension and reform of the football pitch in La Cala has been launched, as well as the approval of the urbanisation project of La Cala Golf vial 5.2. These actions, she explains, "endorse the commitment" of the government team to sport and to cover the needs created by the increase in population in the area of La Cala.

The mayoress has insisted on the importance of establishing direct contact with all institutions, whatever their political colour, which "has a positive impact on the municipality". This aspect, she recalls, was also one of her priorities when she took office and, since then, "I have not missed the opportunity to meet with institutions and sectors from different areas to inform them of the needs and demands of Mijas". 

A recent example of this, according to the council, has been the participation in Fitur, in which, thanks to the efforts of the Tourism and Tourism Promotion Department, it has been possible to hold "very profitable meetings with operators, entrepreneurs and tourism representatives". In this line, it also emphasized the steps taken to obtain a subsidy of almost 840,000 euros granted by the Regional Government of Andalusia for the promotion of employment.

Cleaning

"One of my promises when I took office was the implementation of a cleaning plan which has been executed with remarkable results and which has been carried out in the three urban centres with the utmost respect for the drought regulations in force", added the mayoress.

With regard to this area, Mata highlighted the waste collection and total cleaning carried out in the area of Molino de Viento, as well as the installation of a new clean point for the collection of household goods located in the Polígono de San Rafael, "without forgetting the increase in the essential tasks that guarantee the correct maintenance of the municipality". 

Likewise, "the increase in the number of complaints for non-compliance with municipal ordinances, which have grown by 102%, due to the increased police presence on the streets of the municipality" is highlighted.

During this time, says the government team, the Regulatory Ordinance for the Proper Use and Enjoyment of Beaches has also been approved, which amends the 2011 ordinance, and is adapted to current needs. It has also been adapted to the requirements, for example, of the Q Quality Tourism Management System for Quality, environmental management and universal accessibility, and to those of the Blue Flag award.

It is, they add, an extraordinary plan, which will be repeated throughout the year and which brings with it an awareness campaign and the collaboration of the Local Police.
 
Parks and Gardens

As for Parks and Gardens, almost 650 measures have been carried out, mainly focused on pruning, weeding, improvement of playgrounds and plumbing work and improvement of hydraulic installations, including the installation of a 30 cubic metre tank and its corresponding connection in the María Zambrano park, which will allow the use of non-drinking water, as well as the council's commitment to xeriscaping, a system that favours the responsible use and exploitation of water.

Unblocking contracts

One of the items on which Mata placed special emphasis was the existence of "more than 40 maintenance services without a contract". She gave as examples the electronic headquarters, which should have been resolved in 2020, and which is already in the process of resolution; the lack of an internal complaints channel which "represents a breach of the law" since last June and which is in the process of being processed, as well as the lack of contracts as fundamental as natural gas, the management of parking services, the cemetery service or the maintenance of lifts.

With regard to the social area, the Executive highlights that "the contracting procedure has been promoted for the tendering of the home help service, for which a budget of 14 million euros is proposed for the next 5 years, and which had been without a contract since December 31st 2020, at the same time as subsidies have been paid for a value of 2,500,000 euros, a contribution that benefits all Mijeños and Mijeñas".

Government team

Before concluding their speech, Mata, Cuevas and Maldonado wanted to highlight the "unity and strength" of the government team, as well as the existing understanding between all parties who are united by a "common goal: to work for all citizens".

"Our municipality must be a benchmark, an example of progress, innovation, quality of life and a point of attraction for investment, which brings with it employment and wealth. That is what we work tirelessly on every day, so that Mijas is in the place it deserves. A Mijas that is more orderly, that complies with current legislation. A Mijas full of more opportunities", said the mayoress.

For his part, the first deputy mayor, Juan Carlos Cuevas, thanked both the mayoress and Juan Carlos Maldonado "for the understanding we have had; thanks to the experience they both have, we will be able to claim issues for which Mijas has been very neglected over the years: beach protection, security at Civil Guard level and, above all, make the bureaucracy impact as little as possible within the investments. We are working from the inside out and the results will be seen over time. 

"The balance is very positive, we are setting the guidelines not only of what the Town Hall needs to function well but also to provide good services to the people of Mijas", said the second deputy mayor, Juan Carlos Maldonado. "For example, we are working insistently on the external employment exchange of the Town Hall to be open to the business community, generating alliances with other administrations and operators in training so that the people of Mijas have the maximum opportunities to aspire to full employment", he concluded.

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