Debate the Administrative Reform of Local Power, but go far beyond the simple discussion about the extinction or aggregation of parishes, to which, apparently, the debate on the subject in recent months has been reduced. This is the main objective of the Conference-Debate that this Friday, January 27th, from 16 pm, will take place in the auditorium of the Municipal Museum of Portimão.
Rui Mateus, member of Teixeira Gomes Circle and responsible for organizing the Conference-Debate, he explained to the Sul Informação that, even at the level of the participants, the initiative is intended to “go outside the “normal” agents of local government. Although there are mayors invited to speak and participate, we have made the widest possible publicity and posted information about the congress on all platforms, in order to attract as many people as possible».
One of the entities that collaborate with the Círculo is the Instituto Superior Manuel Teixeira Gomes (ISMAT), from Portimão, which offers the only law course in the Algarve. «We asked them to prepare a reading of the Green Book, the proposal that the Government presented for the Strengthening of Local Administration. But it will be a reading of citizenship, more external to the vision of the mayors, which has dominated the discussion at the national level».
And so, adds Rui Mateus, "visions will be presented on the management model, on what is at stake in this Reform model proposed by the Government."
One of the issues that will be debated will be that of "governance". And we will talk about “the mergers of public administration, but not only the mergers of parishes. Also the mergers of municipalities and the implications this could have».
«In fact, we want to go beyond the simple discussion of how many parishes are going to be extinct or not», because, underlines Rui Mateus, an architect, with experience in local government and in planning, the Green Book proposal goes much further.
"Hence also the availability that the Secretary of State for Local Administration and Administrative Reform has shown to participate in this Conference-Debate." Paulo Simões Júlio will be present in the final part of the debate, at 19 pm.
What is intended, then, is a debate without taboos? “We want to focus the debate on the citizen and on the relationship that the citizen has with the public administration, to know if the current model of functioning of the local government and its financing will really have to be revised or not”, replies Rui Mateus.
At a time when there is a succession of news about the financial difficulties of the Municipal Councils, Rui Mateus stresses that the discussion will also have to focus on the issue of financing models for municipalities. For, he stresses, «the model that the municipalities had to manage and finance themselves was this one and gave rise to the current situation. As people would say in everyday language: all the money was spent, now there is no more, and who pays? Should this model of financing and management of Local Government change or not? More than the mayors, what we want is for the discussion to focus on the citizens».
To ensure maximum participation, in addition to the Conference-Debate being open to the general public, the initiative presents an important innovation – “we have received several questions online, through our various dissemination platforms”, explains Rui Mateus, at the same time that the debate itself will be broadcast live, through the website of Círculo Teixeira Gomes.
And what is the Teixeira Gomes Circle? It is, according to Rui Mateus, “a civic association of cultural and political intervention committed to the interests of the Algarve region”. This civic movement includes people from various political backgrounds and from different professional activities.
It's enough to see that the Circle has Paulo Neves as chairman of the board, linked to the PS, but that this debate is organized by another member, Rui Mateus, linked to the PSD. "In the association's social bodies we were careful to have people from all political areas present, but also from all areas of activity", assured Rui Mateus to Sul Informação.
But the association will not stop at this debate. Under the motto “The Circle is Open”, it is preparing to hold more debates on other matters.
Get to know program here
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