“NEW BROOM WON´T SWEEP CLEAN...”

Staff Reporter SOCIALIST Opposition groups in Palma City Council, yesterday described the Popular Party's new municipal “city clean-up” campaign as a “thorough con trick”. The Opposition condemned the lack of background detail to the much-flaunted drive to give Palma a facelift. The Socialists claimed there appeared to be no concrete agenda, no explanation of how resources were to be allocated, and no allowance made in long-term strategy for the fact that recent population figures for the city have grown significantly. Rosa Marqués, Socialist Workers party representative in “Emaya”, Palma's municipal rubbish collection and water company, pointed out that the number of cleaning staff had been steadily reduced since 1991 from 327 to 286 employees, while the population in Palma had grown by 65'000, from 297'000 to 362'000 people. Marqués commented that the Clean-up Plan will be brought into operation as of 1 March, which coincides with the pre-tourist season. She condemned the fact that this agenda will result in existing workers being unfairly hard-pressed to respond to local need. The Cleaning Plan's over-ambitious schedule, claim the Opposition, is simply not feasible for the amount of staff available. Socialist spokesman, Antoni Roig, jibed that although at last local authorities had recognised the fact that Palma could do with a clean-up, the ruling Popular Party wasn't capable of putting an adequate action plan together and that Palma will therefore “continue being dirty”. Roig called on Antonio Nadal, Environment councillor and president of Emaya, to draw up a specific summary of what his department intends to include in the Cleaning Plan. Roig was of the opinion, however, that although the programme had been allocated a budget of five million euros, the campaign appeared to be more of a marketing exercise than a realistic proposal.