Requesting parliamentary groups to engage in dialogue to choose the new Consell de la Sindicatura
The Sindicatura de Comptes de la Comunitat Valenciana celebrated its 40th anniversary this Friday at the Caixaforum València, hosting around 150 attendees, presentations, and discussions on external control practices.
Representatives from various external control institutions, Sindicatura staff, retired workers, former síndics de comptes and secretaries general, as well as the Minister of Finance and Economy, Ruth Merino, and the Minister of Justice and Public Administration, Nuria Martínez, among other authorities, attended the event.
The síndic major, Vicent Cucarella, presented and moderated the celebration event, stating that it should serve as a «reflection on the present and future of the institution and external control.»
Following this, Cucarella gave the floor to the first vice president of les Corts Valencianes, Alfredo Castelló, who highlighted «its contribution to strengthening the credibility of institutions.» «The Sindicatura has been able to unite all political parties in a common cause, such as the underfunding of the Generalitat Valenciana,» he pointed out.
The event’s inauguration was led by the President of the Court of Auditors, Enriqueta Chicano, who emphasized the positive relationship with other external control institutions and the Sindicatura’s active and innovative attitude. She praised the Sindicatura’s pioneering work in areas such as developing practical audit guides, contributing to shared tools for oversight, and promoting operational and cybersecurity audits, activities that the Sindicatura has been carrying out for almost 30 years.
The President also highlighted the importance of the Sindicatura’s functional independence, both in terms of budgetary considerations and in terms of organizational structure, personnel management, and the development of its annual work program.
In light of the Sindicatura’s 40th-anniversary celebration, the President stated that it is a good time to look towards the future, addressing challenges such as combating climate change, protecting the most vulnerable, and fighting gender inequalities, among others.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ITS INDEPENDENCE
Next, síndic de comptes, Antonio Mira-Perceval, who has served as síndic in the institution for over two decades, discussed the milestones that have shaped the Sindicatura’s identity and its future prospects, with a particular focus on the principles of institutional independence. He emphasized the legal framework provided by Les Corts Valencianas and the independence of its directors and collegiate bodies.
«The Sindicatura has always been detached from political fluctuations, not only because the legislator intended it by establishing long mandates independent of electoral results, but also due to the imprint left by its first Council, composed of Manuel Girona, Vicente Montesinos, and Francisco Gil, to whom the community owes a debt of gratitude, and which subsequent síndics have sought to uphold,» he highlighted.
Other fundamental principles that, according to the síndic, have strengthened the Sindicatura’s regulations include having a sufficiently broad mandate and fully discretionary powers free from interference from the legislative power, as well as the transparency of reports.
Mira-Perceval urged parliamentary groups to «engage in discussions to select the síndics who will replace the current Consell de la Sindicatura,» offering some recommendations: to hold these discussions «without mixing them with those related to other institutions,» to consider mechanisms to prevent the current deadlock, to approach these conversations «constructively and avoiding disparaging remarks towards those of us in this institution and others with fulfilled mandates,» to ensure that at least some síndic has experience in public management, and finally, to continue respecting the tradition that has been positively valued throughout the Sindicatura’s history of maintaining some continuity in each mandate through the retention of some síndics.
THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF EXTERNAL CONTROL
Following this, a roundtable discussion on the present and future of external control was held, moderated by the síndic major and featuring authoritative voices in the field: Matilde Castellanos, Deputy General Comptroller of Castilla-La Mancha; Antonio Minguillón, Chief Auditor of the technical office of the Sindicatura de Comptes; Antonio López, Councillor of the Court of Auditors of Andalusia, and Simón Rego, conselleiro of the Consello de Contas de Galicia.
