The plan, which still requires the approval of the upper house Senate, seeks to resolve Spain’s worst political crisis in four decades but risks an angry reaction from independence supporters, who plan street protests later in the day.

In outlining the cabinet’s decision, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the Catalan economy, which accounts for a fifth of the national economy, was already in worrying shape as a result of the regional’s government push for independence.

“We will ask the Senate, with the aim of protecting the general interest of the nation, to authorize the government… to sack the Catalan president and his government,” Rajoy told a news conference.

It is the first time since Spain’s return to democracy in the late 1970s that the central government has invoked the constitutional right to take control of a region and rule it directly from Madrid.

Direct rule will include full control of the region’s police, finances and public media. The powers of the regional parliament will also be curbed.

Rajoy said his intention was to not use those special powers for more than six months and he would call a regional election as soon as the situation was back to “normal.”

“Our objective is to restore the law and a normal cohabitation among citizens, which has deteriorated a lot, continue with the economic recovery, which is under threat today in Catalonia, and celebrate elections in a situation of normality,” Rajoy said.

The measures must now be approved by Spain’s upper house, the Senate, where a vote is scheduled for Oct. 27.

UNSUSTAINABLE

Rajoy has insisted that Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who heads the northeastern region’s government, has broken the law several times in pushing for independence, including with a referendum on Oct. 1 that the government declared illegal.

“The rulers of Catalonia have respected neither the law on which is based our democracy nor the general interest,” the government said in a memorandum obtained by Reuters. “This situation is unsustainable.”

The independence push has brought on Spain’s worst political crisis since a failed military coup in 1981 several years after the end of the Franco dictatorship. It has met with strong opposition across the rest of Spain, divided Catalonia itself, and raised the prospect of prolonged street protests

It has also led Madrid to cut economic growth forecasts for the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy and prompted hundreds of firms to move their headquarters from Catalonia. Rajoy on Saturday urged firms to stay in the region.

The main opposition Socialists said on Friday they would back special measures and had agreed on the holding of regional elections in January. Rajoy also received the backing of the head of state, King Felipe, on Friday, who said at a public ceremony that “Catalonia is and will remain an essential part” of Spain.

Pro-independence groups have mustered more than one million people onto the streets in protest at Madrid’s refusal to negotiate a solution. Heavy-handed police tactics to shut down a the Oct. 1 independence referendum drew criticism from human rights groups.

Regional authorities said about 90 percent of those who cast ballots voted for independence. But only 43 percent of voters participated and opponents of secession mostly stayed home.

Puigdemont stopped short of making a unilateral declaration of independence following the referendum, but on Thursday he threatened to do so unless the government agreed to a dialogue. He accused Madrid of “repression”.

–

Source: Reuters

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The judgment debt may be slapped if a brewing tussle between the Teshie Family Hospital and oil service company AI does not simmer down any time soon.

A.I was last year granted a permit by authorities to construct a two story office and filling station which will see the construction of a banking hall, restaurant, lounge, shops and filling station among others.

The project is expected to service residents of the Ledzokuku- Krowor Municipal Assembly (LEKMA) and beyond and create hundreds of jobs for the community.

Documents citied by Citi News reveal LEKMA in October last year gave the oil company the go ahead to construct the facility, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the same month also granted the company a permit to construct the facility.

In December 2013 the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) as well as the Ghana Fire Service in May of the same year also granted the oil company the license to build the facility.

But management of the hospital raised objections to the construction of the facility despite authorities granting permits for its construction.

The hospital’s objection to the construction of the facility was the fear of a potential fire out break or explosion or likely respiratory problems caused by the constant inhalation of fumes from the fuel station by patients and workers in the health facility.

But a site plan cited by Citi News amid other documents reveal the oil service company has altered construction of the facility as well as put in place measures to ensure these concerns are addressed.

The documents also reveal that the EPA before granting the permit imposed conditions on A.I after taking account the hospital’s concerns.

Among the conditions imposed was that the pump and fuel tank be built at a certain distance and at the opposite side of the facility and far away from the hospital, at a certain depth in a manner that will be more secure and less likely to contaminate the environment, in line with international standards for building such facilities in such areas.

A.I was also ordered to inculcate the latest technology Vapor Recovery System (VRS) to ensure fumes emanating from the pumps are absorbed.

The VRS is a technology that absorbs about 98 percent of fumes pumps release.

Citi News has learnt the oil company is the first in the history of the country to introduce the technology.

Citi FM has also gathered that another condition that was imposed on the oil company before the permit was granted is the construction of a high wall to block any likely fumes emanating from the station as well as the building of the shopping centre between the hospital and the fuel tank facility so there is a dividing structure.

Meanwhile an earlier court ruling dismissed the hospital’s application seeking for an injunction to stop the construction of the filling station while the court decides on whether the station should be located there on not.

There are fears that if the process for the construction of the facility is halted by any of the state organizations it will mean the state will have to cough the cost incurred by the oil company in putting up the project which is likely to run into millions of dollars.

A visit to the site show the project is already at its completion state.

By: Vivian Kai Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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