Tourism agents from Ibiza aren’t the only ones complaining about Mallorca being the centre of attention at Balearic Islands travel fair stands in Berlin, London and other cities. There appears to be more marginalisation of the Pitiusas in other political areas too. Regular citizens, successful business people and politicians on the Island Council and elsewhere all broadly agree that Ibiza and Formentera are playing second fiddle at best in the regional parliament in Palma.

In these financially trying times rumours are flying with a vengeance on both islands and across all party lines. Island Council President Xico Tarres (Social Democrats, PSOE) was recently quoted as saying, “We are effectively being abused by Mallorca.” It doesn’t often occur that he and his predecessor, conservative People’s Party leader Pere Palau share an opinion. But in this case the two sides, who are usually at odds, are communicating in more conciliatory tones.

Palau recently stated, “We need a pact that includes all political movements on the Pitiusas. Party politics should not play a role when we’re trying to ensure the welfare of the islands.” President Tarres accepted the suggestion with some reservations, as it is mostly his party’s colleagues in Palma that decide about the wellbeing of Ibiza and Formentera and even with the same goals in mind, the opposition and party colleagues naturally have differing perspectives about how best to accomplish this.

At the same time, Tarres does not go out of his way to avoid a conflict. Just a few weeks ago he stirred up a bit of a hornet’s nest himself when he announced that the Island Council has been covering the costs of running the Cas Serres retirement home for almost twenty years, which is great for the Ministry of Health, as it takes pressure off its budget in Palma. He made this surprising announcement at the end of October, saying, “In just this case alone the regional government is depriving us of 6 million euros each year.”

All in all Tarres let it be known that the Island Council pays almost 11 million euros in costs that Palma ought to be paying from the state budget. Local politicians have a long list of complaints. When the Coalition for Progress won the regional elections in 2007 Ibiza expected Pitiusas still play second fiddle that millions in investment for the Dalt Vila World Heritage Site were assured. After all, Dalt Vila is the only World Heritage Site on the Balearic Islands.

However this proved not to be the case. The government headed by Francesc Antich (Social Democrats, PSOE) let it be known in a curt message that there were no funds available for such beautification projects. He put them off saying they would revisit the issue in 2009. President Tarres was reservedly optimistic in his comments in mid-November about the coming budget, stating, “While I haven’t yet been able to see the regional government’s budget draft for next year I am certain that it will contain a line item for the World Heritage Site.”

The second phase of construction for the Santa Eularia conference centre has also been postponed indefinitely. Antich was there in September during the international presentation of the centre and did speak of its importance in attracting offseason visitors. However, he made no definitive statements about further financing. It must be noted that money for this project would not come from Palma but from the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Madrid.

Pedro Solbes (PSOE), Minister of Finance, did promise the Balearic Islands a special transfer of 2.8 billion euros in funds, however decisions about how it will be distributed around the archipelago in the end will be made by Antich’s government in Palma.

Adding insult to injury, Ibiza was to participate only as an observer in a pilot project with the Spanish Ministry of Tourism to attract older visitors to the Balearic Islands this winter. The former Minister for Labour, Margarita Najera (PSOE) promised that not only Mallorcan hotels would profit from European pensioners, but also Ibicencan. But as soon as her replacement Joan Barcelo (PSOE) took over, he quickly and very clearly stated, “At least in the first year the project will be focusing on Platja de Palma.” Island Councillor for Tourism Pepa Marí (PSOE) energetically complained about the discrimination against Ibiza. Her protest brought results. Balearic Islands Minister for Tourism Miquel Nadal (Unio Mallorquina, UM) backed down and said that Ibiza would also be allotted a contingent of EU pensioners in spring. At least this was a small step in the right direction.

Visitors and civil servants at Sant Josep’s town hall were amazed on the morning of October 6th to see several dozen police and judicial officers storming the building in the village centre. Armed with a search warrant from Ibiza’s local court they confiscated countless numbers of documents and computer hard drives during an action that lasted several hours.

In a parallel action, colleagues from the Balearic Islands prosecutor’s office special corruption unit, who all came to Ibiza especially for the action, also searched the offices of the former municipal architect for Sant Josep, Antonio Huerta Briz on Paseo Joan Carles I. in Ibiza town. It appeared to be the first public action in Operacion Pitiusa.

Along with the leader of the alleged wheeling and dealing around the municipal administration, they also have their sights set on the wife of the former municipal architect, Rosario Chamorra, the son of the two, Antonio Huerta Chamorro and his wife Pilar Fernandez. The list of the putative crimes of the Huerta clan is long.

The prosecutors are accusing Antonio Huerta Briz of the misappropriation of public funds, document forging, accepting bribes, fraud, money laundering and gross violations of building regulations. Rosario Chamorro is being investigated for alleged money laundering offences.

The special corruption unit prosecutors have apparently collected evidence over the past three years that point to Briz having abused his position as municipal architect for private gain. Briz, who under the former PP reign between 1998 and 2007 authorised any and all construction permit applications within the Sant Josep municipality, owns an architectural company and a variety of construction companies.

Antonio Huerta Briz and his wife Rosario Chamorro were arrested at Ibiza’s airport one day after the search of the premises as they returned from holidays. While the court denied the defence lawyers’ request for release on bail for the former municipal architect, his wife and their son and his wife, who were arrested the day before, were all released on bail. The trial will probably not be happening any time soon.

According to statements made by the public prosecutor, Antoni Torres, it will take “…many months before we can analyse the seized documents and hard drives.” The detective work also included access to countless numbers of bank transactions over the past ten years totalling around 12 million euros. Antoni Torres could not rule out the fact that more people might end up in the dock during this corruption investigation. One week after the spectacular search action Torres stated, “What we’ve seen so far is just the beginning.”

In front of the magistrate in Eivissa, Antonio Huerta Briz denied all of the accusations levelled against him. The remaining Huerta clan – who are free after posting bail totalling 360.000 euros – also denied all of the charges raised by the prosecution. However, the evidence gathered against them may prove to be damning over the course of the trial for Antonio Huerta Briz and his family.

Among other things the court has videotape that supposedly shows Huerta abusing his position as municipal architect for private gain. Ironically enough, the tape came from the Balearic Islands Architect’s Association. They hired a private detective to investigate In 2006, as suspicions of the illegal dealings of the Huerta clan grew stronger.

The Island Council now know what the populace think about local transport, municipal planning, shopping possibilities and environmental protection – for the majority of these topics they would pull out a red card to show to the council. However, when the questions were about quality of life, the health system and public sports facilities they get praised. These were the results of a survey of 1,502 people over 16 years of age sponsored by the Island Council.

General secretary Francesc Medina (Social Democrat, PSOE) presented the results saying, “In the future we will regularly be asking the citizens their opinion.” They are planning to use the information to assist in policy planning.

Island residents excoriated public transport on the island, with 67.3 percent of the residents of Sant Joan calling the bus services ‘inadequate’. Sant Antoni’s residents were the happiest with bus services on the island, but even there a majority of 50.6 percent rated the bus service ‘inadequate’.

Across all of the municipalities only 5.1 percent rated the services as ‘very good’. All transportation received similar rankings, including connections by ship and plane. 52.4 percent of those questioned found service to the island ‘inadequate’ while only 4.8 percent rated them as ‘very good’.

Respondents across the island were also very critical of municipal planning over the past few years. Those in Sant Josep were especially critical of the island’s massive construction works, where 56.2 percent were ‘very dissatisfied’ with local planning. Residents of Sant Joan were a bit kinder on this issue. While only a very few (7.8 percent) are ‘very satisfied’ with planning on the island, with 36.2 percent far fewer rated it in the worst category ‘very dissatisfied’ compared to other island areas.

Retailers on the island also received their come-uppance. Island wide 43.2 percent of respondents rated shopping options on the island as ‘unsatisfactory’. Just 6.4 percent of island residents gave this topic the best rating of ‘very satisfactory’. Surprisingly, the highest percentage of best ratings on this topic came from the residents of Sant Joan, who are not exactly spoilt for choices in their region.

Sant Joan also gave top marks on the topic of environmental protection. 13.4 percent of respondents gave their local municipality the best rating ‘very satisfied’. In Sant Antoni and Eivissa only 4.2 percent gave their local governments this rating. 47.7 percent of Sant Antoni’s residents are ‘dissatisfied’ with local efforts.

Eivissa received the worst ratings for tidiness on the streets. Almost half (48.7 percent) of respondents are ‘dissatisfied’ with municipal efforts to keep the streets and public plazas clean. Just 5.8 percent responded with ‘very satisfied’ on this topic. The clear winner in this area was Santa Eularia. Only 21 percent gave the worst rating ‘dissatisfied’, while 10.8 percent are ‘very satisfied’.

Asked about the problem areas on the island in general, respondents first mentioned the transport problems as seen above, followed by the high cost of living, the precarious labour market with many temporary job contracts and massive construction on the island. ‘Tourism’ was placed ninth among problem areas on the island, however it cannot be stated with any certainty if respondents meant the current crisis in the sector, or if the many visitors to the island are perceived as a nuisance.

At a time when giant fisheries are flooding the market with cheap fish Ibiza’s local fishermen’s association are advertising their time-honoured values of traditional fishing methods and quality. Working in co-operation with the Balearic Islands ministry for agriculture and fishing, the two organisations have created a local ‘seal of approval’ so that local consumers can support local fishermen by buying locally caught fish. The little sticker is blue and white with the image of a small fish and the words ‘Piex nostrum’ on it – meaning ‘our fish’.

This designation of origin was introduced in mid-October by the general director of the previously mentioned ministry, Patricia Arbona, and the president of Eivissa’s fisherman’s association, Emilio Benitez Lopez. Arbona said, “While the fish with the seal is more expensive, customers can be sure that the product is not only of the highest quality, but can also be secure in the knowledge that the traditional fishing methods do not lead to over fishing of the local waters.”

Lopez announced that a “maximum of four hours” elapse between catch and the further sale to fishmongers on the island. This means that the fish is almost perfectly fresh by the time it gets to your plate.

The second fisherman’s association on the island, based in Sant Antoni, has yet to join this initiative. They are currently in discussions and Lopez from Eivissa’s association is optimistic that soon all of the fishermen will be able to use the ‘Piex nostrum’ label. Lopez further believes that the fishermen on Formentera should consider creating their own designation of original seal.

The campaign, which the state government and the fishermen’s association also want to talk up in the island schools, is being partly co-financed by the EU regional fund.

Jose Manuel Hesse, general director of Spain’s national airport management consortium AENA, announced in October that the Spanish central government is planning to invest almost 30 million euros in the expansion and modernisation of Ibiza’s airport in the next fiscal year. Since construction will take several years, Madrid will also have to include millions in funding for the following years’ budgets.

The expansion plans include construction of additional runways. According to AENA there will be an additional runway each for takeoffs and landings, which will allow trouble free continuation of flights even in the case of emergencies. Hesse also stated, “Further construction plans include the expansion of the passenger terminal and construction of an underground car park for guests beneath the current car park.” AENA also plans to modernise the control tower and install new security equipment.

Additional runways for the airport AENA’s current expansion plans would destroy a number of the island’s cultural artefacts. Judging from the plans five traditional farms would have to be demolished for the new runways. These include several fincas, windmills and waterwheels.

Ibiza’s Island Council is critical of the plans. Josep Maria Gari, general director for the preservation of sites of historic interest, said, “These cultural artefacts are not currently protected, however, we will do everything in our power to ensure that they are preserved.” This could include the possibility of dismantled and reconstruction of the traditional structures in a different location.

After the change in government in 2007 AENA also made a marked downward correction to their projected passenger figures for 2020. While an internal study from 2001 estimated an increase to ten million passengers per year, the newer study shows an increase to just 5.7 million.

The mayor of Sant Josep, Josep Maria Ribas (Social Democrat, PSOE), after a meeting with AENA in Madrid in October, said, “We are now calculating an average yearly growth of approximately three percent.” Commenting on the new numbers he further stated, “These numbers are clearly more sustainable than the previous estimates from a few years ago.”

Climate change isn’t sparing Ibiza – in the Balearic Island’s draft water plan (Plan Hidrologico de Baleares), that the state government is currently putting together, their projected estimates show that by the year 2027 the gap between water demand and the supply of natural water will drift appreciably further apart.

Experts from the Ministry for the Environment have calculated that the supplies of the ground water table on Ibiza will decline by 37.8 percent over the next 20 years. Formentera is projected to have a reduction of an incredible 71.4 percent. During the same time period they also project an increase in demand for drinking water of 21.7 percent on Ibiza and 92.4 percent on Formentera.

According to data supplied by the Ministry for the Environment, seven of sixteen underground reservoirs on Ibiza show a chronic deficit – those in Santa Agnes, Pla de Sant Antoni, Cala Llonga, Roca Llisa, Cala Tarida, Jesus and Serra Grossa. On Formentera the situation around the reservoir beneath La Savina is considered critical. Experts see the main causes of the problem as the great increase in the number of wells, which is a direct result of the massive number of new homes over recent years.

Last August the underground reservoirs on Ibiza were filled to just 52 percent. Over the past few years they showed their lowest supplies back in August 2004 and September 2002, when they barely reached one third of their total capacity. Information provided by the Balearic Islands Ministry for the Environment shows that permits for 364 private wells have been issued on the Pine Islands in the past three years alone. Each of these wells may extract a maximum of 200 cubic metres of groundwater to the surface each year.

What these statistics do not include are the admittedly very few wells drilled for industrial purposes that also extract much more groundwater. The general director for water management on the Balearic Islands, Isidre Canelles (Unio Mallorquina, UM), says, “The situation of the underground water table could be worse, but we will not be able to continue pumping water at current levels.”

Other alternative sources of drinking water will have to pick up the slack. Both the Balearic Islands state government and the central government in Madrid are seeking solutions through the desalination of seawater. Additionally they are working on optimising the use of treated wastewater in agriculture. In order to secure the water supply twenty years from now the central government has also long been planning the construction of a desalination plant in Santa Eularia. However due to a lack of funding the project has been put on hold and no one is certain when it will be built.

When the various desalination plants are finally built they are supposed to be connected to the island-wide network of water mains. This should hopefully ensure, for example, that the Sant Josep municipality, whose residents have complained of salty tap water for years, will finally receive high quality drinking water. However, this plan has been talked about for years and it has remained talk for so long that many residents don’t believe it will ever be realised.

The ministry calculates that the agricultural sector will be making the largest contribution to ease the burden on the groundwater reserves. At the moment on the Pine Islands just 0.28 cubic hectometres of treated wastewater each year are used to water the fields. They estimate that this figure will increase to over 13 cubic hectometres by the end of 2027.

A year after the serious flooding of underpasses on the new motorways, the Balearic Islands Ministry for Construction is still searching for a solution to the problem. The ministry, under the direction of Jaume Carbonero (Social Democrats, PSOE), had charged a construction company to design a drainage system after the events of last autumn. However, no less than 13 public authorities, including the Sant Josep and Eivissa municipalities, as well as the Spanish Costal Authority, having received the plans from the Apia XXI Company, must sign off on the project.

Currently there is no consensus in sight, and thus no scheduled date to begin with construction to solve the problem. Twelve of the authorities rejected the concept from Apia XXI. Problems with the plan include the construction of two underground pipes that would divert the water into the sea at the holiday beach of Platja d’en Bossa and near to the sa Sal Rossa defensive tower.

Other technical details were also called into question, for example there were no specifics given about the maintenance of the 1,685 and 575 metre long concrete pipes. There was nothing else for Minister for Construction Carbonero to do but to admit a certain helplessness during his visit to Ibiza in mid-September. He explained, “This is in fact a complicated problem that we’ve inherited from the previous government.” Not to mention an expensive one. “We are expecting total costs to run to between 3–5 million euros.”

The general director of the ministry, Antoni Armengol, was cautiously optimistic about the possibility of building a collecting tank for the water at the edge of the Ses Salines natural preserve. This would require a tank of approximately 30,000 square metres, about the size of three football pitches.

After heavy rains drivers will have to take detours around these underpasses, at least in the immediate future. Minister Carbonero said, “We’ve worked out an emergency protocol that arranges for the timely closure of at-risk sectors and the rerouting of traffic.” In the meantime, the Apia XXI construction company have been asked to improve their design.

Under the watchful eyes of Balearic Islands Minister President Francesc Antich (Social Democrats, PSOE), and countless numbers of travel agents and journalists from Spain and abroad, the conference centre in Santa Eularia, Ibiza held its first international event on 19th September.

Santa Eularia’s mayor Vicente Marí and Island Council president Xico Tarres used Antich’s presence and that of the Balearic Island Minister for Tourism, Francesc Buils, to encourage them to finance the second phase of construction for the conference centre in the 2009 budget. However, the two politicians from Palma didn’t make any definitive statements with regard to this request. Antich said, “We should all continue to work together to press ahead with the project, but it won’t be easy to secure financing for the second phase.”

Minister for Tourism Buils said the conference centre was a good example of how Ibiza can be made Conference centre hosts first international event more attractive to high quality tourism. A study by the Balearic Islands Ministry for Tourism shows that Ibiza attracts just 5.1 percent of all conference visitors to the Balearic Islands. Buils commented, “Ibiza still has a lot of potential in this area.”

While Ibiza is focused on the financing and marketing of the conference centre, visitors to the Biennale of Architecture, running until 23rd November in Venice, were impressed with the architecture of the new centre. The Spanish Ministry of Housing used the conference centre, designed by architects Jesús Ulargui and Eduardo Pesquera, as the representative object for the Spanish pavilion at the Biennale.

Ulargui was quite pleased, saying, “This isn’t just an honour for the architects. The appointment also speaks highly of the municipal authorities in Santa Eularia who were bold enough to open the project to an international call for submissions.”

Ibiza towns’ authorities are planning to modernise the two historic markets, Mercat Vell (the Old Market) and sa Peixateria (the Fish Market). Both are located just a few metres away from one another in the La Marina harbour quarter at the foot of the ramp to the fortified city.

Mercat Vell

While the Mercat Vell still has about half a dozen stands that sell fruit and vegetables at the moment, the sa Peixateria has been neglected for years. The city authorities only open the heavy iron doors into the tiled interior of the market a few times a year, at most.

The restoration project will give the two markets a more modern polish and return them to the residents of the city quarter. Upon announcement of the plans Mayor Lurdes Costa said, “We have three goals with this project. We hope to provide the residents with the opportunity to buy high quality produce in their neighbourhood, the markets should attract more tourists and, last but not least, we want to provide better sales opportunities for traditional island products.”

Fish Market

The director, Alvaro Curiel, believes that the project will cost approximately 3 million euros. Curiel said, “At the moment we’re still working on the first draft of the concept.” Before the concept can be translated into concrete construction plans it will have to be approved by the commission for the protection of historic sites.

Mayor Costa further stated that they will also be applying for funds for the project from the Spanish Ministry for Housing, saying, “We hope that Madrid will cover up to half of the costs of the project.” Residents of La Marina saw the project in a positive light. They pointed out that, with respect to the city authorities, they’ve been advocating better use of the potential of the two markets, both of which are steeped in tradition, for years.

The planned new hospital, Can Misses II, is already bringing politicians out fighting on several fronts, with countless numbers of main players and bit parts. Although Eivissa’s city government is still negotiating with the owners of the property where they would like to build the new hospital, patient groups and the opposition People’s Party (PP) are already fighting over the hospital’s equipment and furnishings.

Emotions are running high over demands for a radiotherapy machine for patients needing such treatments. The Spanish-wide association ‘Asociacion Espanola Contra el Cancer’ (AECC) and the ‘Asociacion de Defensa del Paciente’ issued clear statements, saying, “We view such a treatment option as not just a medical necessity. It is a matter of respect shown to cancer patients on Ibiza and Formentera.”

Those fighting for the radiotherapy machine have found support from the PP. A PP delegate in the Balearic Islands parliament, Carmen Castro, presented data from the Spanish Ministry of Health showing that “in the Navarra Region there is a radiotherapy machine for every 100,000 residents”. There are clearly more residents than that here on the islands.

On a previous visit to Ibiza the Balearic Islands Minister for Health, Vicenç Thomas (Social Democrat, PSOE), did not explicitly rule out the purchase of such a machine for the new hospital, however he did state that the ‘white book of medicine’ recommends a machine for every 200,000 residents and that his ministry has not planned for this expenditure for Ibiza.

According to information provided by the patient associations, in 2007 over 200 cancer patients travelled to Mallorca for treatment. AECC spokesperson Antoni Pallicer said, “Many Spanish citizens from the mainland who live on the Pine Islands prefer to visit a hospital on the mainland when they need treatments. They can stay with relatives or friends for free.” The Balearic Islands Ministry of Health provides a daily stipend of just 12 euros for patients who have to travel for treatment .

Pallicer says, “From this they have to pay both for their meals and a room, which is impossible.” The AECC and ‘Asociacion de Defensa del Paciente’ presented Island Council president Xico Tarres with a petition of almost 30,000 signatures supporting the purchase of such a radiotherapy machine.

In addition, the Balearic Islands Ministry of Health are still holding firm to their schedule for hospital construction, despite the fact that the negotiations with the property owners for the property are not yet complete. Island councillor for health policies, Patricia Abascal, recently said, “We will be inviting bids for the Can Misses II project at the beginning of 2009.”