Saving money

At last, the Balearic government is looking to save some money by cutting the mamoth regional administration machine. Balearic President Jose Ramon Bauza announced plans yesterday to scale back the size of the local parliament and effectively save 12 million euros over four years. Eighteen MPs will be left with a job. Bauza says that they can do the same with fewer MPs and save the tax-payers a small fortune. At the moment there are 59 Members of Parliament, for a group of islands with a population of one million. Far too many. A sizeable amount of money is spent every year on paying the travel expenses of MPs who come to parliament in Palma from Ibiza, Minorca and Formentera. Also, Bauza has said that he no longer wants a group of dedicated MPs, so they will only be paid when they attend an actual parliamentary session. This cost saving move should also be extended to the small army of civil servants in the Balearics. I think you can safely say that we can do the same with less. The islands have three tiers of government;the central administration, the various island councils and then the individual councils in the given areas. Then there is ofcourse the Balearic government which votes on all matters relating to the Balearic government. Bauza has made an important step in the right direction. He should now have the necessary political courage to continue with his cuts in other areas such as the civil service.