The City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has fined the Acciona-Fomento consortium, the current contractor for parks and gardens services, 30,000 euros for submitting incorrect information about workers. The proceedings, initiated in March, forced the suspension of the tender for the new contract, valued at 34 million.
The Councillor for Public Services of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Carlos Tarife, announced this Thursday in the Control Commission the 30,000 euro fine to the Temporary Business Union (UTE) formed by Acciona and Fomento, responsible for maintaining the city's parks and gardens. The fine is due to a very serious infraction for providing inaccurate data regarding the seniority of workers, which caused a discrepancy of 800,000 euros in the budget for the new tender.
Tarife explained that the sanctioning file was initiated in March when the City Council requested information from the UTE to draft the specifications for the new contract. “They submitted incorrect information, which was completely necessary for preparing the specifications,” said the councillor, who is also the first deputy mayor. As a result, the City Council was forced to suspend the public competition for one of the city's most important and expensive municipal contracts, with a budget of 34 million euros for three years.
A Delay Affecting Residents
The suspension of the competition has delayed the implementation of the new parks and gardens service, which the residents of Santa Cruz are eagerly awaiting. The current contract, temporarily extended, does not include improvements such as tree risk analysis, a recurring citizen demand following branch falls in previous years. Tarife assured that the new specifications, expected to be called between October and November, will provide “the best service in the city's history.”
The councillor detailed that the new contract will cost 34 million euros for three years, six million more than the current one. Among the new features is the creation of a permanent service for analysis, management, and control of the condition and risk of the municipality's trees, which has 454 hectares of parks, gardens, and green spaces. “We want Santa Cruz to have safe and well-maintained green areas,” affirmed Tarife.
Objections from the UTE and Next Steps
The sanctioned UTE has submitted objections to the proceedings, which the City Council is currently reviewing. Tarife did not want to speculate on whether the fine could be appealed but expressed confidence that the process would not further delay the new tender. “We are working on the new specifications so that the contract can be signed and implemented next year,” he assured.
The 30,000 euro fine, while significant, represents a fraction of the service budget. However, the councillor emphasized that the important thing is to ensure transparency and quality in public service. “We cannot allow false data to harm citizens,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, the residents of Santa Cruz will have to wait until late 2026 or early 2027 to see the promised improvements in their parks and gardens. The new tender will also include the planting of new trees, a measure aimed at increasing green areas in the capital of Tenerife.
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