Tenerife Magazine’s round up of some of the most interesting news stories of the week in Tenerife.
The Road to Nowhere
With Spain’s austerity measures resulting in massive budget cuts in state funding for various projects in the Canary Islands it would appear that the ring road linking Guia de Isora and Icod de los Vinos is likely to reach a dead end for the time being. A reduction of nearly 132 million euros in funding for roads means that a number of projects will be affected; the ring road being one. Reductions in state contributions to rail projects will also have an impact on the plans for the north and south rail systems.
Some politicians were surprised by the severity of the cuts (hadn’t they been aware of what was happening elsewhere regarding European economics?) However, not everyone will be too upset that some of Tenerife’s green and pleasant land will be left green and pleasant for a little while longer at least.
We Don’t Need No Education
The Canarian Employment Service released sobering figures this week that revealed that 45% of young Canarios don’t complete their basic education. The figure is a huge 10% higher than the national average. Many believe the root of this problem to be the ease with which young Canarios were able to find employment in tourism and construction in the boom years of the past when jobs were plentiful and qualifications weren’t important. Times have changed and now finding a job without having a good level of education or relevant qualifications is much more difficult. Unfortunately attitudes to the importance of education haven’t changed. Hopefully the European Conference for Youth Employment in the Canaries to be held in Las Palmas later this week will come up with strategies to change this sorry state of affairs.
Tenerife’s Third Airport
A group of German investors have proposed a plan to build an airport between Buenavista del Norte and Los Silos in Isla Baja. We’re not talking international flights here, just one big enough to handle light aircraft.
The proposal has been given a provisional thumbs up by the Tenerife Cabildo and the four municipalities that make up Isla Baja. The big question though is why bother? How will it benefit tourism in Isla Baja apart from possibly making it easier for rich golfers to get to Buenavista Golf? It’s interesting that this hits the news a week after we learn that Buenavista Golf will soon be up for sale.
Callao Salvaje Beach Nears Completion
Adeje’s mayor has announced that work on Playa de Ajabo, the shiny new beach at Callao Salvaje, will be completed after Easter. Of course he didn’t say exactly when after Easter, so that sort of makes it an open ended date.
And finally the TIT (This Is Tenerife) of the week award goes to”¦ The Ostriches of Tenerife
A few weeks ago the Government announced that there was no imminent threat of water restrictions despite the winter-long drought which has caused havoc to some crops on Tenerife and other Canary Islands. Whether the ministers who announced this were crossing their fingers behind their backs and praying for a miracle and a month of rain who knows. But the experiences of farmers on Tenerife’s northern slopes reveal that what is sometimes announced publicly and what actually happens can often be as related as distant cousins… who have never met.
Eight northern municipalities currently don’t have water to irrigate their crops. In two of these areas the irrigation water was ‘cut off’ over a month ago; around about the time when ministers were making reassuring announcements. On March 21, the Minister for Agriculture promised farmers that their water would be turned back on soon; this still hasn’t happened.
Easter’s rains have provided some relief for farmers but it’s not yet enough. The Tenerife Government can’t be held accountable for a freak weather phenomena. But they are responsible when it comes to how they deal with it.
