Marbella.

Marbella is situated on the south coast of Spain; La Costa de Sol. It is one of the most distinguished cities in this southern region. Distinguished most of all because of glamour. Unfortunately, this glamour is fading away slightly. Maybe not in the last place because of the death of King Fahd from Saudi Arabia who frequently visited his palace in Marbella. Many will miss the ritual of the King showing up; hotels were fully booked and tips were more than generous, to mention only one aspect of this visit. There is however enough left of the glamour. If you visit the harbor of Marbella -- Puerto Banus -- you can't miss the enormous yachts and limousines.

The Client is (not always) King.

All organizations have a certain focus and this focus can either be more client oriented, or more internal oriented. A company which is very much internally focused will try to standardize the process, will be very strict with rules and will sell "No” to client-wishes that do not fit in this approach. On the other hand, a client or market focused organization will try to be as flexible as possible; "your wish is our command.” Even when this wish doesn't really fit the organization. It leads to exceptions (of rules) and inefficiencies.

The local government (organization) of Marbella.

Governmental organizations are normally not client focused. That is logical in a way, because there are too many different clients to serve, with different preferences, which would make it impossible to serve. A governmental organization should respond to internal guidelines and one approach for all.

Yet in Marbella, there are many powerful clients. Clients with lots of money, Money that doesn't show up in books. And these powerful clients require an even stronger (local) government. Strong in the sense to be able to stick to those own rules. To internal guidelines. Yet.

The mayor of Marbella, is now detained, together with twenty or more of her staff:

"...is among 22 members of Marbella's council, or linked to it, detained on suspicion of siphoning off €2.4bn (£1.7bn) from the illegal sale of town hall building licences.” (http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/)

Spain is a relatively closed country. The south coast of Spain however open for all those who are looking for a nice (fiscal) climate. I hope that with this apprehension, the climate will change.

Hans Bool