"The economic and social situation in the Algarve region is getting worse and worse" and, "when compared to the rest of the country", its gravity is "much more accentuated", denounced this Monday, in a statement, the Algarve Intermunicipal Community (AMAL).
The presidents of the Algarve Municipal Councils, at the end of their usual meeting that took place today, stated that "the support instruments announced, such as the Training-Algarve Program and the mechanisms to minimize the consequences of the fires in July 2012 are insufficient" , for which they analyzed the possibility of municipalities adopting a tax on tourist overnight stays, "which would revert to social purposes and to support the most needy population".
AMAL members will also ask the Government to "urgently adopt" measures "that take into account the specificity of the Algarve", which include the completion of the EN125 requalification works, the increment of measures to stimulate entrepreneurship and the creation of one's own employment , namely among the unemployed population, or the resumption of the PARES programme, to expand the network of Social Facilities.
The mayors, in a statement signed by the social democrat Macário Correia, chairman of the AMAL executive board, also demand from the Government the «creation of mechanisms similar to risk capital for small business initiatives» and the creation of «new lines of financing within the framework of the European Investment Bank, in order to leverage local public investment”.
In their analysis of the «serious situation» in the Algarve, the mayors begin by pointing out that the unemployment rate in the region is above the national average (17,4% in the Algarve and 15% in the country) and that requests for food aid have suffered. a "huge increase". «Only the Food Bank of the Algarve has assisted 16 thousand people this year (1500 more than in the same period last year) and is supporting 73 institutions».
In its communiqué, AMAL also underlines that the social networks of the municipalities are receiving “increasing requests”, while there is a “reduced capacity to respond at local level due to the Law of Commitments and the financial situation of the municipalities”.
Also with regard to their social support functions, which become more necessary due to the serious situation in the region, the Chambers highlight the “absence of funds available in the local administration and in the central administration for the construction of new social housing”.
In the same line, the mayors recall the "substantial increase in the number of beneficiaries of unemployment benefit (21,8%) and social unemployment benefit (20,2%), when compared to the same period in 2011".
This whole situation could only result in “financial default by Algarve families above the country's average”. AMAL stresses that «the level of default on credit granted for consumption and other goods, by families, is 11,9% in the Algarve and 11,5% in the rest of the country».
In addition, there is also the «accentuate of the financial difficulties of the Algarve companies», such that «at the end of June, the overdue credit of companies headquartered in the region represented almost 19%, a value much higher than the national average (9,2 ,two%)".
But the picture of ruin in the region does not stop there: the AMA also refers to the "sudden drop in construction activity", recalling that "the licensing of works fell by 18,5% and completed works decreased by 25,5%". compared to last year.
As if that wasn't enough, the economy of the interior was "strongly penalized by the fires that hit the municipalities of São Brás de Alportel and Tavira in July", and there was also a "reduction in investment by the Central Administration", which will be aggravated by the Budget for 2013, which foresees “a reduction of 15,7 million euros, compared to the investment foreseen in 2012”.
The 16 Algarve municipalities gathered in AMAL denounce that «the current rules applicable to the assumption of commitments by local authorities put into question not only the municipal activity, but also the financial support of the municipalities to regional organizations (Globalgarve, Orquestra do Algarve, municipal theaters , etc), cultural, sporting and recreational associations, including sports training for young people'.
Taking into account their own difficulties, the mayors add that, in turn, and "in view of the national and European economic and social situation" and the "bureaucratic and legislative web for the implementation of new projects (especially with foreign capital)" they will also be able to do little to attract “new investment”.
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