Luis
B. García
04/05/2020 11:43 | Updated 06/04/2020 12:36
Núria
Marín charges against the Government’s management of the pandemic and nursing
homes in Catalonia (EP)
The
president of the Diputació de Barcelona, Núria Marín (PSC) has responded to
the latest letter from the president of the Generalidad, Quim Torra, demanding an
alliance with the municipal world to demand more spending margin from the Government. In
it, the mayor of L’Hospitalet appreciates that “now” she joins a permanent
claim from the local entity she presides over, but she takes the opportunity to
express her concern about the most urgent at this time, the effective fight
against the coronavirus pandemic, and especially, the care of the most
vulnerable, the elderly in the residences of Catalonia.
“I must tell you, President, that I am concerned about aspects of the management of this emergency by the Generalidad that are not working properly”, says Marin, for whom “the most disturbing is undoubtedly the serious situation of nursing homes”, precisely the most vulnerable group and hit by this health crisis.
“In this issue we have been late and bad” and
“this is causing great distress to the inmates, families and
professionals”
On
this matter, the president of the Diputació reproaches that she has had the
opportunity to hold meetings with the Afers Socials department that Chakir el
Homrani leads, but “I have never seen a defined strategy or authority”.
This certainty and the latest known data on these homes, which have almost 600
deaths from coronavirus and a lack of necessary material and personnel, lead
her to conclude that “for this issue we have come late and badly” and
“this is causing great anguish to the inmates, the families and the
professionals”.
Precisely, on this matter the President acknowledged this week that he was not satisfied with the communication that the Govern has carried out. In a clear criticism of the Department of the Republican Homrani, Torra regretted that ERC had not reported correctly on this matter, but the ‘conseller’ avoided replying and was frustrated at the impossibility of giving further explanations at press conferences because he was confined for having tested positive for coronavirus.
There are “other issues of your management”
that also generate “doubts” and make us think that we have not acted
“neither efficiently nor diligently”
But
Marin also points out in her letter to Torra that there are “other issues
of his management” that have also generated “doubts”, although she
sets them aside in favor of “working to overcome the emergency, learn from
mistakes and leave for later analysis and criticism” of what the socialist
understands that has not been done “neither effectively nor
diligently”.
In the letter, the leader also responds to the request made this Saturday by the President to draw up a “solid alliance” between municipalities and the Government to demand that the Pedro Sánchez Government give more spending margin to the administrations in order to attend to the needs of citizens. In particular, Torra proposed to suspend the spending rule, the relaxation of the Public Procurement Law and the repeal of LARSAL. In this regard, Marín confirms that from the Diputació they share those objectives since they configure “one of the great demands of the local world in recent years”. That is why the mayor values ”very much” that “now” the President joins in that demand.
A warning for the ‘postcoronavirus’
“It can’t happen to us again like in 2008”, in
clear reference to the cuts
After highlighting the good collaboration with Salut and the Govern in the fight against the pandemic, she also issued a warning for “the post-coronavirus”, when it is time to recover the economy: “We must be able to recover the economy and, at the same time, protect the people and families who have been most affected” so that “it cannot happen to us again as in 2008”, she warns, in clear reference to the cuts that the Convergent space carried out at the time under Artur Mas.
Letter to Catalan President Quim Torra
Very Hble. Mr. Joaquim Torra i Pla President of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Dear President, I would like first of all to thank you for your letter and especially the recognition of the work of all the councilors and mayors who in these difficult days are fighting to protect our neighbors from COVID 19. A recognition that extends also to local public employees who are providing essential services with dedication and professionalism, and I value it equally. As the Mayor of L’Hospitalet and President of the Diputación de Barcelona, I guarantee that from the local world we will continue to be in the forefront once this emergency has passed, as we have always done, to recover the economy and social life of the country. It will be a huge challenge that we can only face together, ever since at all levels of administration, and with the complicity also of the economic and social worlds. I hope and wish everyone will finally be up to when the moment arrives. But now we have to face the contingencies of this emergency. The councils are making a great effort in this regard and also to maintain, in parallel, the continuity of management. We cannot stop our administrations if we want a quick way out of the crisis, in health as in the economy.
In the post-coronavirus we must be able to recover the economy and at the same time protect the most affected people and families. It can’t happen to us again like in 2008. Throughout this emergency, from the local world, we have shown our strong will for cooperation, because we mayors have always believed in institutional collaboration, and not just in times of crisis. It is our DNA. And so we have put these weeks into practice by working intensely with Catsalut and other departments of the Generalitat. I don’t know how we would have known how to make it another way. In his letter you also speak of a common front for calls for legislative amendments that will allow greater financial, expenditure and investment capacity in city councils. Obviously we will be there, because this has been one of the great demands of the local world in recent years. We will not be able to recover the country if from the local councils we cannot invest to create wealth and economic activity. That is why I really value having the support of the Government of Catalonia in this regard.
But we will already have time to address it. Now we need to focus on fighting the pandemic. And for that, I have to tell you, President, that I’m concerned about aspects of the management of this emergency by the Generalitat that do not work properly. The most disturbing situation is undoubtedly the serious situation of the nursing homes, precisely the most vulnerable group and hit by this health crisis. Despite meetings with the department, I have never seen a clear strategy or authority. In this matter we have been late and bad, which is causing great distress to inmates, families and professionals. There are other issues where your management has also raised doubts, but now it is time to work on overcoming the
emergency, learn from mistakes and leave for later the analysis and criticism of what I understand has not been done efficiently or diligently.
I remain with the conviction that the commitment expressed in your letter to address all these issues is sincere. Best regards. Barcelona, 5 April 2020.
Núria Marin
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