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  Jose
Alberto Armijo Navas, lawyer,
Nerja mayor and leader of the Nerja
Partido Popular for the last twelve
years sat with RSA 99.1 fm and
SPANISH INSIGHT NEWS to discuss
concerns and issues facing Nerja's
residents, foreign and Spanish alike.
1.
What would you and your party like to do for Nerja that you have
not done in the past twelve years?
I would like
to push a series of important projects for Nerja's future that
unfortunately do not fall directly under the Town Hall's responsibility.
Nerja needs the Junta de Andalucia to finally construct the marina,
and that is only the responsibility of the Junta de Andalucia.
Nerja also needs the Andalucian Environmental Department to push
through our water purification system and for the Junta to allow
the development of many tourist projects Nerja needs to be a tourism
leader.
2. It seems
to be the conventional wisdom that you are a rising star in the
Partido Popular with political aspirations that will take you away
from Nerja. If your party is voted into office for another four
years, would you guarantee to the voters that you would continue
as head of the party in the position of mayor?
I have to
thank my party once again for the trust they have shown in me
by choosing me for the fourth time as candidate (for mayor) in
the upcoming municipal elections. What we have achieved so far,
since the PP has been in control of government since 1995, is
not something one person has done. It all has been done through
team-work. I have had the honour of presiding over that team,
just like a captain, because they asked me to. I am looking forward
to a new phase, knowing that we have experience and a renovated
team with younger people- prepared people with illusions - which
offer a guarantee of the service we will provide. I hope that
on the 27th of May, the people will trust the PP once again and
put us back in power with a strong, absolute majority.
3. What is
the role of Nerja in the Diputacion de Malaga? What could your ayuntamiento
do to assure a more harmonious working relationship with the Diputacion?
Unfortunately,
at this time the Diputacion de Malaga does not pay attention to
Nerja. Nerja is the only town in the province considered to be a
tourist town. Proof of the lack of attention from the provincial
government is that the President of the Diputacion has not visited
Nerja to find out about its problems and issues. I know that there
are other towns that are smaller than Nerja, that have less resources
than we do, and they deserve special attention from the provincial
government. However, it bothers me when I see that the Diputacion
helps strong municipalities in Malaga , but not Nerja. I hope and
wish that the next government of Malaga Province will belong to
the PP, and that they will pay more attention to our needs.
4. There is a lot of commentary that Nerja goes its own way and
does not work together with the Malaga Diputaction even when other
PP town halls do. There is speculation that this is the reason important
projects are not approved or completed? What do you think about
that opinion? What could be done to better work together for everybody's
benefit?
It takes two
to tango. From our side, there has been an invitation. We have
contacted the Diputacion to do our best by offering to sit down
and talk about the problems of Nerja. However, this request has
fallen on deaf ears. Nonetheless, we must admit that fortunately,
this attitude is not all over the Diputacion government. There
are some areas in the Diputacion where we have been able to maintain
an open dialogue and have been able to move ahead with some projects.
I do wish, however, that the President of the Diputacion de Malaga
would show more interest in finding out the needs of Nerjeños.
5. Nerja
foreign residents have grave concerns for what they perceive as
"laxity" in the enforcement of construction procedures,
rules and regulations. What can your ayuntamiento do to address
these concerns?
I am very
clear when I say that a politician should not show favouritism
when dealing with the citizens. If a person has done something
wrong, then that person must pay the consequences. I would not,
have not and will not allow that my administration divides citizens
in 1st or 2nd class. In my view, the foreigner, although they
have a different nationality than mine, they are neighbours, citizens
of Nerja. There is no distinction and I will not allow for inequalities
between Spanish and foreigners. If there have been problems in
this sense, I would first like to study the issue to show those
people that the Town Hall in Nerja treats all its citizens equally.
The law is the same for all, there cannot be a different law for
different people. If someone feels discriminated against please
let me know so I can give them the technical, judiciary or political
explanations (of what happened). I mean, treating two people differently
under the law is a dangerous situation. I like to respect the
law and would never allow a citizen to have different treatment
from other citizens.
6. While
it is important for the foreign residents to learn some Spanish,
it is a rare individual that will able to master the language sufficiently
to fully understand legal complexities. Currently this Town Hall
does very little to address this linguistic barrier with some foreigners
feeling that perhaps this is purposefully used as a method of disenfranchisement.
What can your administration do to change this situation?
That is not true. From the Town Hall we have been, are and will
be trying to integrate the foreigners. Part of this is learning
the language, but also the resident's decision to integrate themselves
into the town. We want to eliminate barriers, to get rid of the
obstacles that stop foreigners from fully integrating. In 1995
we created the Foreigners Office and that was an important proposal
we made to take care of that group that we used to see as distant.
We have tried since then to create a policy of integration. We
must improve the Foreigners Department; support the department
so they can help implement the policies of integration. Of course,
one of the focuses is the language. We would like all residents
to speak Spanish so that we can make communication easier and
we can exchange ideas. We are organizing Spanish courses. There
is a clear indication of the political importance, at least for
the PP, and that is that Emma Hall will be placed in a very important
spot in the ballot for next month's election. This will guarantee
that she will be elected, I hope, as part of the government. We
will continue developing policies that will favour integration
as we recognize the importance of the foreigner. The foreigner
is just another neighbour, another Nerjeño. It is very
important for the foreigners to see Town Hall as their home, as
a place to go to express their needs and problems, and to offer
suggestions and ways to improve it. While the Town Hall is somewhat
responsible, we also must point out that it is the responsibility
of the citizen to reach out and to try to communicate with the
administration. I am very happy that we took two important gambles
in 95, creating the Foreigners Office and the Women's Department,
which we might now want to call the Equality Department. These
two sectors are very significant and very important, and have
been keys of great importance to us. One complaint Emma always
has is that we must pay greater attention to our foreigners. I
am aware of that, and that we need to improve the infrastructure,
the equipment and human resources. We must make the department
stronger and make it work under better conditions so that it can
be used by foreigners to get information and help. Of 21,000 people
in Nerja, 6,000 are foreigners, a very high and important percentage.
7a. Another
important and emotionally sensitive issue is the lack of a modern,
humane animal control programme in Nerja. An issue so important
it has united the foreign community to effectively raise money to
accomplish this work that many feel should be a fundamental responsibility
in a 21st century municipality. What will your administration do
to correct this culturally divisive issue?
I must admit
that our image is not great in this respect. I feel that there
are misconceived notions about the way we must act with this problem.
For this Town Hall, or at least for me, animals should be respected.
Animal owners must also be aware of their pet's behaviour and
must know about the role animals play in our town. It is important
for owners to know that the Town Hall respects them, and our policies
are not against having animals or about eliminating them. We would
like for animals to have proper behaviour and for the owners,
especially dog owners, as we are having many problems with dog
feces in and around town. We can not blame the animals, but the
owners must be aware of their responsibilities. We must improve
or restore our image that was damaged by the actions of a few
Town Councillors that applied some measurements that affected
our image. I believe in the correct and respectful treatment of
animals. However, we must all be aware of the Town Ordinances,
the laws that we must follow and respect, and the first ones that
should follow the law should be the animal owners.
7b. Many
of the local animal welfare organisations , primarily financed and
staffed by foreigners, feel ignored and maginalised by the Town
Hall. Currently the Town Hall gives them no assistance, financial
or otherwise, to do their work. Could you comment on this?
I have not
had any direct relation with them. Perhaps it might have been
Rafael Rivas, the veterinarian that has met with them. If any
case, if they approach us to have some kind of collaboration,
or help, we will consider it. We understand that they play an
important role in our community and we will have no problem in
signing agreements with them to help solve the problems that affect
us all.
8. Do you
have a final message for the people of Nerja today?
The foreign
community must be aware that May 27th is an important date. Foreigners
must make their opinions count and they must decide they are 1st
class citizens that can vote and should vote. What happens on
May 27th is very important for Nerja and affects us all. There
will be a new Town Hall, and there will be new people responsible
for the government. The choices are clear, a government of the
PP or a coalition from the PSOE. I invite all of you to vote for
which option you consider more adequate, but please do not stay
at home. May 28th is an important date and we must make our voices
be heard.
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