Desidério Silva, who takes sworn in as president of the Algarve Regional Tourism Authority on November 2, and because of that he leaves the presidency of the Albufeira City Council, he sent a letter to the citizens today explaining his choice.
The letter comes a day after that Chamber, with a PSD majority, approved the suspension of the mayor's mandate, and his replacement by the vice-president until now, José Carlos Rolo.
The PS in Albufeira, in a statement released yesterday, accused Desidério Silva of being "a president in the face of the reality he created", stating that the social-democratic mayor who has been at the head of the Chamber for the past eleven years leaves the municipality "in organizational chaos and financial'.
The explanation that Desidério Silva addresses to the citizens, and which coincides with what he had already said to the municipal officials, is, of course, quite different.
Desidério begins by stressing that «given the local law in force that prevents me from applying again to the municipality of Albufeira», he is «in the final phase» of his performance as mayor.
The still mayor affirms that he feels it is “the moment to intervene on a regional scale”. «I consider that the Algarve Tourism needs a new dynamic that allows us to affirm the best that exists in this region, which is so important in the national context», he adds.
«My experience as mayor and president of the Albufeira Tourism Association lead me to embrace this challenge with determination and willingness to make a difference, always in defense of the region», says Desidério Silva in the letter he addressed to the residents.
Taking stock of his action as a mayor, he stresses that he is “very proud of Albufeira's evolution: the implementation of new equipment and school, social and sports programmes; the construction and modernization of accessibility that improved the quality of life of residents and visitors, the improvement of water supply and sanitation networks, the creation of more green spaces, the implementation of public transport, the strengthening of cleanliness». In short, argues Desidério Silva, throughout his eleven years at the head of the City Council, Albufeira has become a «attractive council, beautiful to live in, visit and invest in».
Albufeires socialists, however, contest this alleged pink vision and criticize the abandonment of functions, with the mandate still pending. «Hearing the president up to now say, in his farewell message to the municipality's employees, “that he goes to Tourism because this has always been his vocation”, leaves a feeling of revolt and frustration among those who have always given their best to County. After all, the president was not here due to conviction, he was in transit, to another place that he always considered more interesting».
Ricardo Clemente, president of the PS Council Political Commission, in a statement, launched the challenge to the PSD, namely to its President of the Political Commission, Carlos Silva e Sousa, alleged "nominated candidate" for the Chamber by the Social Democrats, so that « take a public position and tell the residents of Albufeires if you agree with the non-fulfillment of the commitments to the voters and if you agree or not with the abandonment of functions by Desidério Silva».
«Albufeira cannot continue along this path, cannot continue with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, combined with one of the highest tax rates in the country and with costs approaching unsustainable, particularly with regard to supply. of goods and services”, stress the socialists.
«The path we are taking, where there is evidence of a decreasing lack of capacity to respond to growing problems, combined with a management that has proved to be ineffective, wasteful and populist, has led us to an imbalance in municipal accounts, which show a liabilities of around 90 million euros”, adds Ricardo Clemente.
«Unmotivated employees, companies that today feel the autarchy not as a partner but as an obstacle to economic development, a tourist offer that has to assert itself as competitive in an increasingly degraded urban environment, are the reality that the management of this executive, led until today by Desidério Silva, has led us», concludes the PS from Albufeira.
A swearing in of Desidério Silva as president of Turismo do Algarve is scheduled for Friday, November 2, at 16 pm, in the auditorium of the headquarters of this entity, on Avenida 00 de Outubro, in Faro.
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