During an Extraordinary Council Meeting on Monday, 23rd November the thorny issue of  which company was to be awarded the contract to manage Manilva's water and sewerage provision was finally resolved.

The contract was awarded to Aquagest Sur SA by a vote of  13 votes for: consisting of the 5 governing IU councillors, 4 PSOE councillors and the four independents - Augusto Gil, Yolanda Holgado, Mª Carmen Ferriz, and Paqui Tome; two abstentions from the PP councillors; and two against, being the ASM councillors.

The Mayoress, Antonia Muñoz, that the decision was the best one based on the recommendations of the technical committee, which established that this was the best solution for the people of Manilva.

For his part, Salvador Zotano, spokesman for the PSOE declared his intention to vote in favour of this concession stating that after a year and a half it was time to resolve this issue. He went on to say that if the law permits, the socialist would aim for the creation of a joint venture between the company and the Manilva Town Hall to manage the municipal water supply.

The immediate consequence of this decision will be a cash injection into the economy of some 5 million euros which among other things will guarantee the municipal wage bill for the next few months, as well as pay off the council's debts to local business.

This resolution paved the way for a formalisation of the IU/PSOE pact, which was signed later the same day, having been one of the main sticking points between the two parties.