The Court of Audit archives the Cala Mijas Festival case even though there are records

The Court of Audit has closed the case of the Festival Cala Mijas as it found no evidence of "the existence of actual damage" to public funds in the execution of the sponsorship contract signed between the Mijas Town Hall and the event's promoting company, despite noting "administrative and budgetary irregularities," according to the court's ruling.

The document, issued last June 16 and accessed by Málaga Hoy, stems from the "refund procedure due to discrepancy" following a report submitted by the comptroller of Mijas Town Hall in June 2023, related to “deficiencies in the management of public funds” within the framework of the sponsorship contract.

The ruling states that accounting responsibility is “a liability for damages whose assessment requires, in addition to the violation of a rule or procedure, the accredited and effective presence of a detriment.” It also points out that this detriment “must constitute a discrepancy, as established in Article 72 of Law 7/1988, on the Functioning of the Court of Audit, characterized by the lack of accreditation of the destination given to public funds.”

Therefore, it notes that "mere formal irregularities that the expenditure file may suffer are irrelevant for the accounting jurisdiction, without prejudice to the consequences that may arise from such irregularities in other administrative or jurisdictional areas."

Among the deficiencies pointed out by the comptroller are the “undue payment by Mijas Town Hall of invoices for transport services linked to the event,” as it is not the title holder; or “the lack of accreditation of the settlement and realization of the possible revenues that the festival should have generated,” according to the ruling.

The document also refers to “deficiencies in the payments made by the Town Hall under the concept of sponsorship” and to “the assumption of expenses improperly charged to the Town Hall,” as noted by the municipal comptroller.

Provisional Settlement Record

The Court of Audit highlights that in the provisional settlement record, dated last April 25, the instructing delegate concluded that “although various administrative and budgetary irregularities related to the execution of the sponsorship contract are present, in none of the cases analyzed has the existence of an actual, economically assessable, and individualized damage to public funds been established that would allow for an accounting discrepancy.”

It also indicates that “the questioned actions have been covered under valid administrative agreements, not contested, which enjoy the presumption of legality, or are still in the administrative or collection resolution phase, which prevents considering the alleged losses of public funds as consolidated.”

To this, it adds that the Public Prosecutor's Office “has agreed with the conclusion of the provisional settlement record and has requested not to initiate the refund procedure due to discrepancy,” while the Mijas Town Hall “has not made any statements in this regard,” both being legitimized to exercise claims of accounting responsibility.

Therefore, the court resolves “not to initiate the refund procedure due to discrepancy,” meaning not to start a judicial or accounting trial, and thereby proceeds to “archive these proceedings.” An appeal can be filed against the decision of the Court.

Political Reactions

The government spokesperson, Mario Bravo, has highlighted that the Court of Audit's ruling “represents a clear and indisputable endorsement of the procedure that the Town Hall is carrying out, to claim from the company what is specifically stated in the contract, in defense of the interests and money of the people of Mijas, as is our duty.”

Bravo has lamented the “obscurantism and opacity” with which the previous PSOE mayor negotiated with the company and managed “everything related to the Festival Cala Mijas, ignoring the comptroller's objections and the relevant administrative procedures.”

“The Court of Audit agrees with us, both in what we denounced while in the opposition when we maintained that there had been irregularities in the contracting of the festival by the previous socialist mayor, Josele González, and in the management that we are carrying out since we came to the government of the Town Hall, looking after the interests of the people of Mijas,” he emphasized.

For his part, the PSOE spokesperson in the Town Hall, Roy Pérez, has welcomed that the Court of Audit has closed the complaint related to the public tendering of the Festival Cala Mijas, which “leaves the mayor, Ana Mata, without arguments to support her decision to unilaterally cancel this cultural event.”

According to his assessment, the resolution of the TC is yet “another proof that Ana Mata cancelled the festival Cala Mijas out of spite towards Josele González and any success associated with his mandate,” and he has demanded that the mayor explain “how much it will cost the people of Mijas” the breach of contract with the festival's promoter after its cancellation.

On the other hand, the councilor highlighted how in just two editions, the Festival Cala Mijas had an economic impact on Mijas of more than 22 million euros.