PS and PSD at the Lisbon Municipal Assembly exchange accusations of ″ political chicanery ″
The Municipal Assembly of Lisbon this Tuesday rejected the PS recommendation “for the urgent conclusion of inter-administrative contracts for urban hygiene”, after the failure of the previous executive, a situation that motivated an exchange of accusations of “political chicanery”.
The proposal of the municipal PS group, which was rejected with votes against the PSD, CDS-PP, PPM, MPT, Liberal Initiative, Chega, Aliança, PCP and PEV and votes in favor of PS, Livre, BE, PAN and two independents from Cidadãos por Lisboa (elected by the PS / Livre coalition), intended to recommend to the Lisbon City Council that it complies with previous contracts signed in the area of urban hygiene and “shortly carry out the steps required to enter into new inter-administrative contracts between the municipality of Lisbon and the 24 parishes of the city, with due articulation with the parish councils”.
In the presentation of the proposal, the socialist Miguel Coelho, who is president of the Parish Council of Santa Maria Maior, highlighted the importance of inter-administrative contracts, including due to the number of visitors in his territory, which is higher than the residents, respectively, an average of 250,000 people per day for around 9,700 residents, which has a “brutal” impact on urban hygiene.
Miguel Coelho referred that “in 2019, perhaps due to the emergencies caused by a pandemic, the Lisbon City Council failed to transfer these funds”, claiming that these amounts have to be returned to parish councils that have already spent the money.
The social democrat Luís Newton, who is president of the Estrela Parish Council, criticized the PS for demanding from the current executive, chaired by Carlos Moedas (PSD), the fulfillment of what the previous executive, led by the socialist Fernando Medina, did not ensure he assured , considering that “the city has been abandoned” and highlighting the fact that he now sees “many presidents of council very active, solidary in this matter”.
“Another one that was promised and was not carried out”, accused Luís Newton, questioning the previous executive about where is the money that should have been transferred to the parish councils, a clarification given by the councilor of PS João Paulo Saraiva, who took over the Ministry of Finance without mandate 2017-2021.
Before João Paulo Saraiva was given the floor, CDS-PP deputy Carlos Ardisson and chairman of the Parish Council of Parque das Nações complained of having “a hole of 324,000 euros” due to breach of contract by the council, considering it “an incongruity” that the PS is complaining about a situation that it left unresolved.
After the accusations against the former municipal executive, the socialist Miguel Coelho lamented the intervention of Luís Newton for having decided to make “some political chicanery of a matter that is serious for Lisbon”, saying that the city “has never been abandoned”, even as councils of parish does not exclude from intervening.
In response, the social democrat said to the socialist: “political chicanery is what we are doing here […] the truth is that there was a default”.
In order to clarify the situation, the PS councilor João Paulo Saraiva indicated that the delay in the transfer of funds to the parish councils was due to extraordinary needs in view of the covid-19 pandemic.
“It’s clearly political chicanery to try to bake now, you’ve recognized that claiming a pass for exemplary briefcase, […] this matter is there, so it’s not worth playing with what is a mass ticket in which you have all the information, you have the means, we leave 200 million euros in the bank accounts, so sorry but it is not acceptable that now it is said that they are not high as conditions to analyze the issue and decide on it, that is what is being asked for, nothing more is being asked for”, requested the former councilor for Finance at the Lisbon Chamber.
On behalf of the current executive, the vice-president of the Lisbon Chamber, Filipe Anacoreta Correia, assured that “there is every availability and every interest to talk with the presidents of the board”, in order to resolve the situation “in the best way” .
Luís Newton challenged the PS to withdraw the proposal, but this did not happen: “if this is not political chicanery, there is a quick way to resolve this, withdraw a recommendation proposal and we all sit at the table with the new executive “.
PCP deputy Fábio Sousa, who is president of the Parish Council of Carnide, considers that the inter-administrative contracts “do not solve the challenges of urban hygiene” and are proof that the administrative reorganization and the transfer of competences to the parish councils was not able to take care as investment issues and constants in this area
