The Councillor for Festivities, Rocío Ortuño, has settled the on-going controversy over whether or not Orihuela will have lights during the upcoming Christmas holidays, after nothing was put in place.
However, the lights will be turned on in the Gabriel Miró Glorieta, on 15th December, to coincide with the opening of the Solidarity Market. “They won’t be what I would have liked, but there will be lights.”
She explained the ‘poisoned inheritance’ that she received from the previous government team. “They were aware of the situation in which they left the Festivities Department, which was dismantled, without staff, without a budget and without contracts.”
“With this background we have done the impossible so that Orihuela has a dignified Christmas where the most important thing is the boys and girls. With the money we had, we had to guarantee the Santa Claus parade, the Village, the Three Kings Parade and the music, and the little money that was left is what we have allocated to the Christmas lights.”
Although there will be lights for the city and the coast, the councillor has apologised to the districts because they are the ones that have been affected by this contract, as there is no budget for festive illuminations in the villages.
Rocío Ortuño is convinced that the previous government team of PSOE and Ciudadanos “was aware of how they left the council and did not work to resolve this problem that affects all Oriolanos. I repeat, we are going to have Christmas lights, very few, but we will have them.”