The regional deputy of the PP, Manuel Cifuentes, denounced this Friday at a press conference the "total lack of project" of the Asturias Executive to face waste management in the community and how it "dodges responsibility," letting the legislature pass without making significant decisions.
He recalled that in the interpellation last Wednesday in the Plenary session, the PP raised various doubts to the counselor about his waste strategy, but, according to Cifuentes, he did not obtain concrete explanations or a defined plan.
Regarding the fire insurance conflict of "la plantona," Cifuentes explained that the counselor of Mobility, Environment and Management, Alejandro Calvo, maintained that the facility is covered by the civil liability insurance of the company in charge of its reconstruction. "Having the plant today in the same situation as two years ago does not seem to concern him," insisted the parliamentarian, also underlining that "the Government has decided not to learn a lesson that has cost all Asturians 15 million euros."
As for solid recovered fuel (SRF), he lamented that the Executive still has not clarified the future of this valorizable waste. In his opinion, the Government remains paralyzed, "we assume, waiting for what its Government partner dictates, which has already generated a crisis at the beginning of this week," he pointed out.
Cifuentes recalled that in the Plenary session, counselor Alejandro Calvo even stated that "we are asking them to accelerate decisions to see if it causes a collapse of the Government." The popular deputy replied that, in his opinion, "it is not about accelerating, but about preventing SRF from being buried again due to lack of planning."
In this regard, he reiterated that the PP maintains that decisions should be made "based on technical, economic, and environmental criteria." He added that his party is not willing to "wait for the problem to resolve itself, which is what the PSOE is doing now because it does not dare to impose on its government partner the decision in which it believes."
The popular leader also alluded to the situation of the manager Paz Orviz, highlighting the "rupture and loss of confidence" after the sick leave she requested just when she was supposed to appear before the General Junta at the request of the PP.
According to Cifuentes' account, the counselor presented a proposal at the Board of Directors meeting for her temporary replacement, despite the manager having communicated her return to work this very week. "Given this situation, we wonder what kind of relationship exists for the counselor to be unaware of her return to work. Does she have to find out about these kinds of matters through the newspapers?" he asked.
"We are concerned to see how a counselor from the Government of Asturias exerts this type of pressure on a well-regarded professional, focusing all management problems on her," added the deputy. And he questioned again: "What does he expect her to do if she lacks the direction and political drive she needs to guide the consortium's management?"
In this context, Cifuentes denounced the loss of European funding due to "lack of political drive" and warned that this situation "is going to start costing all Asturians money," citing the 7.5 million euros allocated to the Siero household waste collection center.
He called on the regional Executive, and in particular Alejandro Calvo, to assume his responsibilities and "stop evading responsibilities, stop accusing the opposition of using Cogersa's serious management problems to wear down the Government, or stop accusing the media." "When, given the seriousness of the situation, the counselor resorts to these kinds of arguments, he is on the defensive," he pointed out.
The deputy also asked the counselor to "stop using politically and creating uncertainty" among Cogersa's staff, fueling the "fear" of a possible privatization. He emphasized that "we want to convey to the workers that in the PP we believe that Cogersa, which was created as a pioneer 44 years ago, is a tool that was exemplary in environmental management, and that the PP is committed to it becoming so again. From the public sector, waste management can be recovered that is up to the 21st century. We are committed precisely to getting Cogersa out of the reputational crisis into which this coalition Government has plunged it. Defending the public sector is done by demanding effective management," he concluded, criticizing the PSOE and Convocatoria-IU Executive.