Press release
Orihuela is legally a ‘big city’. This legal framework gives you a series of benefits and obligations.
Among these obligations is to distribute the inhabitants into districts and give their inhabitants a certain amount of access to power and money.
Orihuela has 11 districts. Approximately, Orihuela in total has 86,000 registered residents with 33,000 in Orihuela city, 28,000 in Orihuela Costa and 25,000 in rural districts (pedanías).
Each district in the last 2019 budget received €60,000 (in 2024 there is no budget allocation for districts)
In total €60,000 for 11 districts makes €660,000. An average of €7.60 per inhabitant.
Orihuela Costa has two districts, X and XI. They each have approximately 14,000 registered residents and a total of approximately 28,000 inhabitants, receive €120,000 and the average is €4.20 per inhabitant per year, that is, €3.40 less than the average.
Over four years it would be around €400,000 less (without taking into account the residents who are not registered but pay their taxes to have services that they do not use all year round).
Districts I, II, III and IV, with 34,100 inhabitants, get €7 per inhabitant per year.
District V gets approximately €13 per person per year.
District VI works out to €12.50 euros per inhabitant.
In District VII they get €12.60 per inhabitant.
District VIII works out to €11.70 per inhabitant.
District IX, €8.80 per inhabitant.
Districts X and XI, (Orihuela Costa) €4.20 per person per year.
And it gets worse! While other districts are not growing, Orihuela Costa’s population is growing by approximately 1,000 people per year, losing at least €7,000 per year. This is without counting people who own a house, live here for some months but pay every single tax for the whole year.
So, is it by chance that Orihuela Costa gets less money? Or is there a purpose of all governments in Orihuela to destroy Orihuela Costa ?
We at PIOC think that Orihuela is milking the cow of Orihuela Costa, not allowing us to grow properly. Are they are determined to damage Orihuela Costa as much as possible?
We can see that in the lack of services and infrastructure, rubbish collection, schools, police and municipal services, which in many instances are non-existent!
If people in Orihuela Costa want to have proper services, better values for their homes, more safety and security, better schools, better roads and so on, we urge our neighbours to join neighbourhood associations such as AVCRL and to join PIOC. The first is free, the second costs a small fee, which should be seen as an investment.
The Orihuela government turns its back on the coast, takes your money and spends it on the city, not the coast! These are the very people who pay the local government and its staff wages, who pay their taxes only to be ignored and treated as second class citizens.
Is that what you want? No! Surely you want to be treated fairly and with respect, not be milked dry!
Norah Bond, PIOC
(Partido para la Independencia de Orihuela Costa)
