Controversy grows over the allocation of public housing to municipal officials in Alicante

ValenciaThe Alicante City Council will cross-reference the data of those awarded public housing with that of the current staff of civil servants to determine if any other employees are linked to the allocation of subsidized housing to various municipal officials. This was announced on Tuesday by the Councilor for Contracting and Human Resources and leader of the People's Party, Manuel Villar, who stated that he does not intend to carry out a "witch hunt," but wants to clarify if there are other city officials and officials who were awarded housing or who had "connection to the procedure." He also detailed that an extraordinary plenary session dedicated to the controversy will be held this Thursday, as requested by the opposition groups. The scandal has already resulted in the resignation of the Councilor for Urban Planning, Rocío Gómez – who was one of the recipients – and the municipal Director General of Internal Organization, Public Procurement and Funds Management, María Pérez-Hickman, along with her two sons and a nephew. Furthermore, the actions of a technician from the Housing Department, who is already under investigation, are being examined. He approved a housing unit for his wife, a municipal employee.

Without competence or responsibility

Manuel Villar has argued that the Alicante City Council lacks the authority to allocate the housing and that its role is limited to "selling the land at a set price" to real estate developers, who are responsible for ensuring that the allocation criteria are met. In fact, the council has reported the matter to the Public Prosecutor's Office so that this body can verify whether the requirements were respected. The current criteria are that the recipients cannot own another property, that the allocated apartment must be used as their primary residence, and that the annual income of the family unit cannot exceed €54,000.

"It's a fraud"

The PP leader's account is not shared by the Socialist spokesperson, Ana Barceló, who described the events as a "fraud" that undermines "the public's trust in the administration." The PSPV suspects that crimes of administrative malfeasance, prohibited negotiations by public officials, conflict of interest, fraud, defrauding the administration, and fraud of law with criminal implications may have been committed. Compromís has broadened the scope of the investigation and urged the City Council to verify whether the homes "are actually being lived in by the people who were awarded them" or, conversely, whether they have been rented or sold, as some reports suggest. citizen complaints collected by the newspaper InformationThese complaints from residents cite monthly rents of between 1,200 and 1,600 euros and sale prices approaching half a million euros, half of which are paid in cash. Given the magnitude of the controversy, Valencian regionalist deputy María José Calabuig has called for a commission of inquiry in the Valencian Parliament (Les Corts) to clarify why "people with salaries of almost 70,000 euros" are benefiting from public housing.