The mayor of Loulé has slammed two key service providers, accusing them of failing residents while continuing to receive millions of euros in public funds.
Quoted in a council press release, Telmo Pinto pointed to what he described as poor performance by waste management company Algar and electricity distributor E-Redes, saying both their failures are having a “direct negative impact” on citizens’ lives.
According to the mayor, Algar recently approved the distribution of €3 million in dividends to shareholders, despite opposition from all 16 Algarve municipalities. Pinto argues, however, that the money should instead be reinvested to improve services.
“Algar does a terrible job in waste collection. It is us, the municipalities, who respond daily to the population and who, many times, have to use parish and council resources to do the work that should be theirs,” he said.
The mayor added that Loulé pays around €6 million a year to Algar for what he called a “deficient service”.
He also raised concerns about the performance of E-Redes, the company in charge of electricity distribution, particularly ongoing problems with public lighting.
“We continue with months and months of lack of public lighting and consecutive breakdowns. It is also a very poor service provided to the population,” he said.
He claimed the current level of service has set the municipality back “30 years”, comparing it to a time when electricity supply issues were more common.
Loulé also pays approximately €6 million per year to E-Redes for its services. Despite its reportedly faulty performance, the company is now bidding again for a new contract to manage electricity distribution in the Algarve, covering both low and medium voltage networks.
Pinto said he would continue to push for improvements, stressing his responsibility to local residents.
“It is my duty, in the role I hold, to defend the interests of our population. That is what I was elected to do, and we will not accept that our residents’ resources continue to be mismanaged by entities that fail to fulfil their purpose.”
