To clean up the accounts of the Academic Association of the University of Algarve (AAUAlg) will be the primary objective of the board elected two weeks ago and which will take office in January. The new representatives of the Algarve university students want to make a general review of the association's functioning and remain in the history of the community, for the best reasons.
Two former presidents of the Academic Association of the University of Algarve are now members of the same management team. Pedro Barros is the president and Eduardo Almeida the treasurer, a pair that had already deserved the students' trust.
They now want to rehabilitate this structure, investing in significant changes, which not only involve the economic component, but also the pedagogy and living conditions of displaced students.
The two future directors of the association and the chairman of the Board of the Assembly Magna João Pedro Ferreira were the guests of the radio program «Impressões», organized jointly by the Sul Informação and by Rádio Universitária do Algarve RUA FM.
"In the month that we have until we take office, we want to plan with rigor what our work will be for the next year, trying to combat the short term in office that we will have, because, in my opinion, one year is always too little to do what we want to do. », said Pedro Barros. With this “good planning”, Pedro Barros believes that this direction can remain “in the history of the Academic Association”.
For this to happen, the future management cannot fail in the objective of cleaning up AAUAlg's accounts. Although numbers have not yet come up, the future responsible for the association are having access to financial documents and already have an idea of what will be the task they will face.
"Gradually, we get an idea of what we are going to find," said Eduardo Almeida, who added that the current general management provided "some documentation" for future leaders to prepare for next year.
Eduardo Almeida highlighted the difficulties that the country has been experiencing and those that it will still experience, «which is reflected in the companies». “The association has a strong business component, which also suffers. From January onwards, we should even feel more, as we provide catering services and VAT will increase”, he explained.
“We will have to make a complete review of our services, make them all sustainable and devise strategies to get AAUAlg out of this financial situation”, summed up the future treasurer of the community. "This is urgently needed to be resolved quickly," he said.
The possibility of reducing personnel is not excluded, as well as the sale of some of the services, but it will always be the last resort, he guaranteed.
“I would be lying if I said that downsizing is not a possibility. But maybe, before thinking about firing people, I will have to think about not hiring or not renewing contracts. If I have to increase the price of services, maybe first I have to talk to suppliers and find cheaper solutions, to mitigate these increases», illustrated Eduardo Almeida.
«I know that there is a permanent concern on the part of the Executive Management [permanent and paid structure of the AAUAlg] in solving this problem. Contracts with suppliers have already been renegotiated, in terms of extending deadlines and in order to resolve situations well, avoiding legal situations that can bring more expense», said Eduardo Almeida.
The former president of AAUAlg spoke of the effort of the Executive Board and not that of the General, but only because it has been «closer to the first and is the one I can speak for», he assured. “No one will hear me talking about the current General Direction,” he assured.
«When I was there, the situation was not easy, but they managed to turn around and when Eduardo was there, the same thing. There is a lot of talk about crisis, but we are going to talk more about work. And I believe that, with a good job, we will be able to get around all the situations», considered, for his part, Pedro Barros.
But the association does not live only on account, hence Pedro Barros's emphasis on two other objectives, more focused on his colleagues, initiatives he considered "ambitious".
“One of our main goals is the creation of a housing office. This project arises from a partnership with the Chamber of Faro, with the possible support of the University, which I am sure will also want to help us», announced Pedro Barros.
The idea is to create an official list of apartments for rent that meet all legal requirements and have the necessary living conditions. This validation will be carried out by an office to be created within AAUAlg.
“It often happens that houses are illegally rented and houses that do not even have the minimum conditions to live there. We want to regulate this situation, namely with the cooperation of specialized technicians in the area of the Chamber, who have already made themselves available to do this work», he revealed.
At the same time, a service to the State is promoted, as only landlords who are willing to issue the proper lease receipt will enter this list, which implies an inflow of taxes. “The biggest problem worldwide is the black economy. The obligation of a lease and a receipt will be exhaustive», warned Pedro Barros.
Pedagogy will also be a priority. "We want to create a Pedagogical Office, which helps our colleagues in their day-to-day activities", said the elected president of AAUAlg. At issue are issues such as the release of grades, disputes with teachers and access to exams, among others.
“Pedagogical problems have to be resolved quickly and at the moment there is a lot of bureaucracy. It's all a big snack», he said.
A work that is already a competence of AAUAlg, admitted Pedro Barros, but which could be more efficient. "The idea is to try to reorganize and improve this service," he added, putting someone permanently to bridge the gap between the association and other UAlg bodies.
The newly elected president of the Assembly of the Magna Assembly announced the revision “of all the points of the association's statutes, one by one”, to be put to the vote. The idea is to adapt the organization to the current reality. «That does not mean that we will change all the points, but we will look at all of them», said João Pedro Ferreira.
Comments