By INÊS LOPES ines.lopes@algarveresident.com
Faro Câmara could soon be injecting around €20 million into the local economy, “despite the crisis and serious debt problems”, announced Mayor Macário Correia.
In a statement to the press last week, Macário Correia said this mandate is, “without a doubt”, proving to be the most difficult since the April 25 1974 Revolution. But still, Faro Câmara has achieved a lot and has even managed to reduce its global debt by €7.6 million since 2009.
He admitted that the Câmara’s debt had risen from €24 million in 2001 to €90 million in 2009. “We still have invoices from 2007 to be paid, totalling around €1.7 million,” said Correia. “The truth is, when Portugal was hit by the financial crisis, Faro Câmara was already going through difficult times with a global debt of around €90 million.”
In a bid to explain how the situation has worsened with the lack of revenue, the mayor exemplified: “In 2007, 100 building licence requests would be submitted monthly to the Câmara. Nowadays, the monthly average is four or five requests. In other words, this is close to a total paralysis in the real estate sector,” said Macário Correia.
But, according to him, things are looking brighter. Firstly, the Câmara has managed to cut operational costs by €3 million a year. “We reduced our staff by 262, have fewer bosses, cut back on phone, cleaning and security bills, among others,” he said.
Having tried and failed to obtain a viable bank loan to rebalance its accounts two years ago, the Câmara is about to receive much-needed funds via a different route, he said, referring to government-funded credit lines for the local economy – Plano de Apoio à Economia Local, or PAEL. The amount the government will concede is not yet known. Faro Municipal Assembly had proposed a loan of €24 million but Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Miguel Relvas said some proposals were still being analysed, including that of Faro Câmara.
“It is difficult to support cultural and sports associations, carry out road maintenance works, or invest in more school or social centres, when we have to save up to around €5-6 million a year to pay off our debt,” he said. However, “we hope to be able to inject €20 million into the municipality’s economy in the short-term.”
But much has already been achieved despite the difficulties, said Macário Correia, who went on to list the various projects carried out by the Câmara in recent times: namely to build a new school at Lejana, improve Vale Carneiros and Bordeira schools, take the first steps in the redevelopment of the historic city centre, and improve road signage throughout the municipality, among other projects.
The latest achievement was to win €300,000 in consultancy from IBM in the Smarter Cities Challenge, which will ensure modernisation projects can be analysed and hopefully put into practice in the Algarve capital city.
“2013 will be a difficult year for all, but while I’m sailing this boat, I will ensure that it will remain en route, with persistence, determination and a lot of work. We cannot do more or better for the time being, but better days will come,” concluded Correia.
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