Staff Reporter
AS a writer, I am happy when someone criticises what I write.
So often, writers are confronted with the opposite – a resounding, ear-deafening… nothing. At least when someone criticises what I write I know that someone, at least, has read it.
I don’t mind being criticised but I will not argue my case until the end of time. Once I come up against someone who is determined to win, I am happy to let them. At any rate, there has been a discussion about it.
So, what has all of this got to do with my monotheme: Mijas? It is very simple really. I write to restore balance in the Mijas universe. You see, when a government is in power, they have access to hundreds of thousands of euros to tell people what they are doing. In the case of the current three parties, they have also employed five journalists on 50K a year to tell the mijeños what a wonderful job they are doing. Am I criticising this? Not really. I would do the same in their position. Maybe not the five journalists though! I think I could put 250K to better use like building stables for the donkeys!
There is another little problem. People (okay not everyone) walk around with their eyes closed and providing a dog doesn’t cock its leg on their doorstep, they see nothing. They will complain if they get a short measure of beer, or if their coffee isn’t the right temperature, but not if millions of their money is being wasted by their elected members.
And another one. Mijas is the third largest municipality in Malaga province, both in population and territory with around 148 km2. Basically, it is enormous. How can someone in Mijas Pueblo possibly know without visiting the problems of the beach in Calahonda? How can someone in Riviera del Sol know whether the streets are clean in Mijas Pueblo?
If people only rely on the Mijas Semanal they will see that Mijas is thriving. Unfortunately, it is not and my articles are not just about criticising, they are about painting a picture of the other side. Maldonado’s journalists are hardly likely to write about what is not getting done, whose voices are not being heard, the squandering of taxpayers’ money in privatising services, just because they don’t know how to manage the services.
Am I trying to influence people? Of course I am and at no cost to the Mijas taxpayer – via social media. So if I am being criticised, I feel kind of proud. €600,000 a year versus a budget of zero and I am helping to restore the balance. I also hope to assist in opening minds to the possibilities of May 2019, when we the internationals, can make a change in the government of Mijas.
So, please don’t wander blindly in your isolated, fluffy, technicolor bubble. Get on the voters’ roll now and let’s make the only sensible decision.
