Consell calls on Govern balear to fix sewage pipe, remove roadblocks to planned regulation on Formentera’s shoreline

ple-d-octubrev3Officeholders met today for the full-house October assembly of the Consell de Formentera. The session brought cross-party support for a measure petitioning the Govern balear to allocate funding in its 2020 budget for “upgrades and repairs of the sewage pipe servicing the island of Formentera, including work to ensure proper depth and routing provisions”.

In the plea, assembly members urge the Balearic government to “test the functioning—and possible malfunctioning—of Formentera’s water purifying plant”. Assembly members ask the administration in Palma to use the results of the probe to “articulate and share with the Formentera government a timetable for reconditioning the plant”.

Antonio J Sanz, Formentera’s environment chief, held up the consensus among local political parties that “effects of the problem are wide ranging and proper working order of Formentera’s water treatment facilities is fundamental”.

The session also came with the GxF-PSOE governing team’s backing of an appeal to the Govern balear to move forward the project to regulate ships which anchor on Formentera’s coastline. The text calls for “regulation that balances standards of environmental sustainability with socio-economic considerations, taking into account the absorption capacity of underwater ecosystems and technical studies already commissioned by the Consell de Formentera”.

“We believe this is a huge issue for the whole island, and one in which progress is essential”, said Sanz, who described “the vast numbers of anchoring watercraft on local shores and the serious impact on posidonia meadows”. The councillor also pointed out that the appeal mentions expanding the scope of education and patrol efforts until regulation takes effect.

Support for teachers
Assembly members handed cross-party support to a proposal to reject “attempts to cast doubt on the work of teachers and school administrations in the Balearics”. Brought by the governing team, the proposal makes explicit the Consell’s “recognition of and support for the quality and professionalism of teachers and school administrations”.

As the measure makes clear, the Consell de Formentera believes “scrutiny of instruction in schools, and whether it meets the standards set by legislators, is the remit of the regional education ministry’s inspection service”. According to Formentera’s education councillor, Susana Labrador, the statement is a response to one political party’s appeal to the Balearic Parlament that visits be paid to schools—among them Formentera’s secondary school, IES Marc Ferrer. “We think this reaffirmation of our teachers, not to mention educational inspectors, is necessary following the attempt to cast doubt on the job that they’re doing”.

Honouring local police
The assembly likewise brought unanimous support to award six different distinctions to the following local law enforcement officers: Genoveva Hernández (Cross for Police Merit [green badge]), Andrés Torres (Cross for Police Merit [white badge] and Cross for Police Merit [green badge]), José Yern (Cross for Police Merit [white badge]), Félix Ramos (first prize for length of service) and Vicente Aguilar (second prize for length of service).

In fact, tomorrow, Saturday 26 October, the agents will receive their distinctions in a ceremony organised by the Consell. The event will take place at 12 noon in the conference hall (Sala de Plens) of the Centre de Dia.

Consell proclamation
Lastly, assembly members were united in support of a proclamation for International Day of Action for Trans Depathologization. Presented by equality and LGTBI councillor Vanessa Parellada, the measure seeks to “spotlight the Consell’s commitment to normalising the full breadth of sexual and gender identities”. “This is why once again we’ll be hosting activities aimed at raising social awareness around issues that affect trans people”, said Parellada, “just as we’ve done with the LGTBIQ+ community, just as we’ve done with feminist causes and just as we’ve backed any position in support of social justice”.

Since International Day of Action for Trans Depathologization was started in 2009 by Stop Trans Depathologization, every October the day helps raise awareness about the need to remove gender dysphoria from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases. It also serves to remind the world of the importance of healthcare access for trans individuals and of terms to address intersex people not based in binary concepts of "normal".


25 October 2019
Department of Communication
Consell de Formentera