VALENCIA'S regional president has come under fire for 'extravagance' as his constituency buckles under the weight of austerity, tax hikes and funding cuts.
While the Comunidad Valenciana is reported to have some of the highest income and property taxes in Spain, has recently hiked inheritance tax and owes millions to its health centres, hospitals, schools and pharmacies, its leader Alberto Fabra has been found to be spending residents' contributions on 20 personal members of staff.
Several thousand teachers have been made redundant and class sizes increased to 35 or 40 in State schools in the region – but Fabra has 16 consultants, three chauffeurs and a personal chef working for him.
The 950-page itinerary of staff and their functions within the regional government has been published in accordance with federal law, but due to its size, some delays were experienced in finally uploading it online.
Its purpose was to 'ensure adequate planning of human resources needs and facilitate selection processes' within the Generalitat Valenciana's headquarters.
The regional government press office has 32 staff members, of which 16 are consultants, three are chauffeurs and one a chef – all serving the president of the Generalitat – plus two secretaries working for Fabra, one general and one private.
A total of 21 journalists covering all regional government ministries, plus a photographer and two camera operators, a publicist, a head of the correspondence and diary team, a budget management technician, a specialist in administration and protocol, plus several public policy, documentation and economic studies analysis managers are all employed within the regional government headquarters.
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