Algarve mayors reject government pressure, for now
Price increases announced for water across the 16 municipalities of the Algarve will NOT now being implemented, as planned, in March.
The reason, according to Expresso today, is that “various mayors announced they would not be applying the price increases”.
In other words, a number of mayors u-turned on the decision by AMAL – the region’s intermunicipal community, led by PS mayor of Olhão António Pina – and bit by bit, more joined them, to the point that AMAL has now suspended the proposal.
What happens next is that a meeting has been scheduled for March 8 (two days before legislative elections) for the 16 regional mayors to “adopt a joint approach to the drought affecting the region”.
António Pina has lamented what he calls “party political interference” in a regional matter “which is the saving of water”.
“After the decision (to increase prices) was taken by unanimity, with reservations from the municipality of Silves, the candidate from Cascais which the PSD has chosen for the Algarve decided to pull the ears of all the PSD mayors, and within 48-hours they had all gone back and what they had agreed”, Pina told Expresso.
To be fair, the ‘candidate from Cascais’ (Miguel Pinto Luz) reacted to the news of water price hikes in the Algarve the day after they were announced, saying that this was a “solution of those who have done nothing in eight years of government” (a criticism that in itself is not new, but in this case, seems to have had dramatic effect).
“The drama is that there is no solution that can be ready tomorrow”, said Pinto Luz. “But we (meaning PSD social democrats) are going to implement an integrated policy, urgently, for the management of water to resolve the problem for the next 20 years, come rain or come shine”.
Those words didn’t just see PSD mayors start the mutiny – even Rosa Palma, Silves’ long-standing communist mayor announced her municipality would not be implementing any price increases.
Rosa Palma was then followed by Isilda Gomes – the PS Socialist mayor of Portimão, who confirmed to Expresso that “for the time being” her municipality will also be leaving water costs as they are.
After Gomes came the PS Socialist mayors of Lagoa and Tavira…
“After all this, all that remained was for us to suspend the increase, and return to discussing it at the next intermunicipal meeting”, Pina told Expresso. And this is due to take place against the backdrop of a very fierce legislative battle, with both main parties in determined pursuit of floating voters (which, at last count, amounted to around 1.5 million people).
What AMAL stresses is that any decision has to have ‘universality’ (meaning all municipalities are on board).
The mayors of Faro (Rogério Bacalhau, PSD), Lagoa (Luís Encarnação, PS) and Portimão (Isilda Gomes, PS) have stressed their reticence has more to do with their municipalities’ water charges being already among the highest in the Algarve – and the increases being seen as ‘de trop’. Expresso does not refer to the fact that this year’s legislative elections will be followed next year by municipal elections (and no mayor wants to be seen as raising charges that are already high).
António Pina’s feeling is that increases of 15% (for the majority of consumers), really would not affect bills that much.
But for now, the whole subject has descended into an uncomfortable melting pot.
“With or without tariff increases, the municipalities of the Algarve will have to reduce their water consumption”, concludes Expresso.
“Among 42 measures approved by the government to address the drought is the obligation for each municipality this year to reduce its water consumption compared with 2023 by 15%. If they do not, Águas do Algarve will cut the percentage of water supplied”, says the paper – which will affect all those on mains water, and be utterly meaningless for households/ businesses that survive on boreholes (as long the boreholes still have water, that is).
Yesterday Lusa reported that latest figures already show that the Algarve is actually consuming MORE water than it did this time last year. Thus the way ahead is every bit as complicated as it was yesterday, even if for now, consumers are not likely to face price increases for the water they use.
natasha.donn@portugalresident.com
