Rui André, current mayor of Monchique, fulfilling his first term, announced today his re-candidacy, by the PSD, to that autarchy, in elections scheduled for next October.
In his long «Declaration of intention to re-candidate for the presidency of the Municipality of Monchique», sent today to the media, Rui André guarantees that he has made «a profound reflection on my position» in the Local Elections process, and lists 10 reasons to re-apply.
First, because “the change project I proposed and which was approved by the majority of Monchiquenses, with a view to a 12-year execution, is just over six months away from reaching a third of its execution”.
But Rui André guarantees that «the goals set are being met. It took three years of hard work and effort to build solid foundations for the sustained growth of this county, immediately creating a clear strategy and a direction for the future».
The social-democratic mayor defends that Monchique is “on the right path and complying with what I had proposed, taking steps that prove to be fundamental for us to reverse the process of loss of population and hope in the local economy, aware that only in this way will it be possible to elevate the municipality of Monchique to a level of integrated development, based on modernity and the development of its local economy».
Rui André also underlines the effort of «Financial Balance and Reorganization of Municipal Services», made in the last three years, even «due to the need to steer a boat that was adrift and always on the list of worst payers and with a considerable debt , given the size of the municipality and the works carried out in recent years».
Then "because there was an obligation to carefully manage a treasury that, as it was being conducted, had led to a debt of around 14 million euros, of which 3.6 million euros was in debt contracted in 2009 to suppliers."
It was a task that, according to the mayor of the PSD, involved “regaining the trust of banks, creditors and above all suppliers, many of them local and requiring payment so that they too can overcome the serious situation they are experiencing”.
The effort, according to Rui André, was worth it as there was a “48% reduction in this debt”. At the moment, he adds, "the debt to the banks stands at 6.3 million euros and in the short term it is around 1 million euros."
Another reason has to do with the need to reorganize municipal services, introducing “new management models” and changing or presenting “new Operating Regulations”.
Thus, at the Municipality of Monchique, the number of existing divisions was reduced at the end of 2010 by 25%, «long before the “obligations” of the Troika».
But “precarious work situations for more than forty employees were also regularized, while maintaining the same number of Employees on the Board as we had in November 2009”.
Rui André guarantees, on the other hand, that «when I arrived at the Chamber in November 2009 with my team, there was no work in progress or any project for Community Funds approved or even applied for».
Therefore, «we rolled up our sleeves and today we have more than 8 million euros in projects presented and approved, whether via POPH, POVT, PRODER, FEOGA and others, some of which are currently underway».
Another positive aspect that the Monchiquense mayor highlights is the creation of the Local Investment Support Office, assuming that «local products and businesses, which are a priority and also a brand of our entity, should be promoted with the support of the City Council» .
In the Social component, which Rui André says he defined "as a priority", "a work of proximity and partnership with various local entities" was carried out.
On the other hand, he stresses in his Declaration, "despite the national economic and political situation of severe congestion to the action of local authorities and resulting in the application of measures of control and demand that, despite the healthy intentions, forced a change in form. of managing these important institutions and consequently breaking with some vices of a more liberal management of the past».
However, stresses Rui André, «many of these measures incorporate serious cuts and changes that I cannot agree with, since we are talking about the survival of many fellow citizens, some of them plagued by the phenomenon of unemployment, jeopardizing the balance of the sustainability of this territory, where less than 25% of the population is active».
The current mayor of Monchique, in his Re-candidacy Declaration, ends by saying that “the next mandate will be to consolidate this dynamic, to reap the fruits of the seeds now sown, but it will also be a bet on resolving some of the problems we have been facing. noting and that they have gained greater dimension in recent times, with emphasis on the fight against unemployment».
«It is necessary to re-functionalize the existing workforce, as well as the local productive fabric, and boost entrepreneurship in sectors as important as the forest and the transformation of its various products. It is therefore essential to continue with the policy of investment incentives that we have been implementing, with emphasis on the reduction of IMI and other municipal taxes, with a view to urban regeneration, thus seeking to rehabilitate some areas in the center of the village, but also in the most deprived nuclei of parishes and rural villages. With this proximity investment, we will generate employment, housing, and create dynamism in local commerce, in addition to the urgent and necessary repopulation of urban centers».
«I consider that I have all the conditions to continue to affirm Monchique as a reference council, in a selfless commitment to the public service, aware that increasingly, this proximity work requires decisions with determination, but also, and especially in the times we have passed, policies with a heart, as well as a great social sensitivity to build together a more prosperous future for all», concludes Rui André.
In Monchique, in addition to the PSD, the PS had already announced its head of the list, which will be Grace Batalim, current socialist councilor and former president of the Parish Council of Monchique.
Read the Declaration in full:
«Declaration of intention to re-candidate for the presidency of the Municipality of Monchique
At a time when candidacies for municipal bodies are being profiled with a view to standing up for the next elections to be held in October this year, I too, as the current Mayor of Monchique, made a profound reflection on my position in this process.
As has been customary in my action and posture, the result of a personal and professional growth completely detached from established interests, whether economic or partisan, nor subjugated to different calendars other than the true interests of the population to which I belong and to which I belong. entrusted the management of its collective destiny, I decided to make public my reflection and decision to re-candidate for the presidency of the Municipality of Monchique, for the following reasons:
1. The Change project that I proposed and which was approved by the majority of Monchiquenses, with a view to an execution of 12 years, is just over six months away from reaching 1/3 of its execution. It is therefore with great pleasure that today, I can say that the goals outlined are being met. It took three years of hard work and effort to build solid foundations for the sustained growth of this municipality, immediately creating a clear strategy and a direction for the future.
Those who know me know that I don't know how to be in any other way but given body and soul to this project, to this new way of being in political life, always with a personal nature, but without forgetting the collaboration of many who are part of this great team that I am pleased to lead.
Therefore, I cannot fail to show satisfaction in knowing that we are on the right path and complying with what I had proposed, taking steps that are fundamental to reversing the process of loss of population and of hope in the local economy, aware that only in this way will it be possible to elevate the Municipality of Monchique to a level of integrated development, based on modernity and the development of its local economy.
2. These were three years of great effort in the Financial Balance and Reorganization of Municipal Services, firstly because of the need to guide a boat that was adrift and always on the list of worst payers and with a considerable debt, given the size of the municipality and of the works carried out in recent years; second, because there was an obligation to carefully manage a treasury that, as it was being conducted, had led to a debt of around 14 million euros, of which 3.6 million euros in debt contracted in 2009 to suppliers.
It was therefore important to regain the trust of banks, creditors and above all suppliers, many of them local and in need of payment so that they too could overcome the serious situation they are experiencing.
It was with great determination that the accounts of this Municipality led us to a much more favorable situation, with the reduction of this debt by 48% and, just for information, at this moment, the debt to the banks amounts to 6.3 million euros and in short term is around 1 million euros.
3. The reorganization of municipal services took on particular emphasis and the introduction of new management models and the change or presentation of new Operating Regulations was yet another guarantee of the personal involvement of an entire team. We reduced the number of existing Divisions at year-end 2010 by 25%, well ahead of the Troika's “obligations”.
On the other hand, we were able to regularize precarious work situations for more than forty employees, while maintaining the same number of Employees on the Board that we had in November 2009.
We changed the opening hours which allowed us to be more efficient and less wasteful, effectively saving on current operating expenses. Always with the objective of improving public service, we also want to promote decent working and training conditions for our Employees, many of whom have not attended any training for over 20 years.
4. When in November 2009 I arrived at the City Hall with my team, there was no work in progress or any project for Community Funds approved or even applied for.
We've rolled up our sleeves and today, we have more than 8 million euros in projects submitted and approved, whether via POPH, POVT, PRODER, FEOGA and others, some of them currently underway, such as: Expansion and remodeling of networks water and sewage; Rural Electrifications; Construction or reconstruction and dams/ponds; House of Medronho; Strategic Civil Protection Re-equipment, Municipal Civil Protection Center; Monchique Interpretive Center; Rural School Center of Marmelete; Via Algarvian II, among others.
5. With the creation of the Local Investment Support Office, I assumed that local products and businesses, which are a priority and also a brand of our entity, should be promoted with the support of the City Council.
Therefore, we created initiatives to promote the various local products and closely followed the consolidation of others, such as Aguardente de Medronho, its derivatives and the traditional sausages and ham from Monchique. The creation of Loja do Mel and Medronho is one of these actions. We defined a new tourist positioning for the county, created a territorial brand identifying our assets, with a clear focus on the quality of the different offers in terms of Nature, Health and Well-Being, Gastronomic and Cultural Tourism.
We increased the number of offer of local accommodation and were active partners with the hotel units that have emerged in the meantime and those already installed. We have been at the forefront in defending low-density territories and Nature Tourism as a complement to the offer of Sun, Beach and Golf in the Algarve region.
We had the audacity to organize initiatives for Local Commerce, we created and encouraged entrepreneurship, among other ways with the creation of the Monchique Criativo e Empreendedor Municipal Award, which is taking place. We accompanied several investors with Regional entities and sometimes even the Government, to present their projects and ideas that they wish to carry out in the Municipality in the near future. We supported the applications of various entrepreneurs to European Funds, we always said this to those who do not turn their face to the fight and want to bet on Monchique to live and carry out their business.
The municipality of Monchique and the action of the City Council are today recognized and extolled, with some of its projects being replicated by other municipalities across the country. This situation is therefore the result of a committed, persistent and concerted work of organization and structuring of the existing offer in the municipality, mainly in terms of tourism, which resulted in the recent campaign “Monchique, o Topo do Algarve”, mainly highlighting a whole world business, entrepreneur, but also of great quality, as are the products that are distributed in the four highlighted points: Nature, Health and Well-being, Cultural and Gastronomic Tourism.
The ongoing consolidation and enrichment of these products has proved to be quite positive due to the response and collaboration of local agents and all the entities involved, in addition to the increasing external visibility of the municipality and the prestige achieved.
6. In the Social component, which I also defined as a priority, we carried out a work of proximity and partnership with several local entities, which I consider to be very positive. In addition to the start of construction of the new Home in Marmelete and the Day Center and Home Support in Alferce, and fulfilling what had been promised, we were able to provide the 3 Parishes with new services, leaving the Cantina Social and the Social Center in operation in Monchique. start of Home Support which, I am convinced, will soon become operational.
But beyond that we assume that getting old in Monchique is good! We drew up the Gerontological Plan, unique in the Algarve and among the few in the country, which turns this 'problem' into an opportunity, offering a careful look at the issues of active aging. We created the Commission for the Protection of Children and Youth, the CPCJ de Monchique.
Remember that this was the only municipality in the Algarve where such an entity did not function. We are committed to the future and to young people, in a clear support for Families, particularly in the serious social situation we are going through and therefore we have doubled the support for Higher Education Students and accepted the request of many families to reduce the value, or even exempt, the payments of the attendance of the Municipal Nursery. We created the Local Technical Assistance Bank and a Local Volunteer Bank. We streamlined the Local Social Action Council.
We increased the offer of social services in proximity, essentially to the school population and the elderly. We did not say no to hundreds of requests for support to transport children and adults, to Clubs and Institutions, as well as Parish Councils for countless purposes. When other municipalities cut almost everything, in Monchique support was reinforced in almost everything, despite the difficulties felt.
7. Despite the national economic-political situation of severe congestion to the action of local authorities and resulting in the application of measures of control and demand that, despite the healthy intentions, forced a change in the way of managing these important institutions and consequently breaking with some vices of a more liberal management of the past. Even though many of these measures incorporate severe cuts and changes that I cannot agree with, as we are talking about the survival of many fellow citizens, some of them plagued by the phenomenon of unemployment, jeopardizing the balance of sustainability in this territory, where less than 25 % of the population is active.
Added to this is the fact that the short and medium-term prospects are not the most favorable for the country's economic development, in the model we have always been used to, the result of wrong choices that I often criticized, especially due to the abandonment of low-income territories population density, and not betting on sectors linked to the traditions of the region and the country, which are now found to be the engines of exports, namely the agricultural productive sector and transformation.
8. Even so, and considering all the issues, I could not help but be on the side of those who believe in me and in a team that has local values that are far superior to any others, nor the will that emerges from civic participation, demonstrated in society. Where we live, trying to carry out an ambitious project that we know is the one that will best serve the interests of the populations of the Parish of Monchique, Alferce and Marmelete, I decided to submit to the organs of the Party by which I was elected Mayor of Monchique the my intention to re-apply.
9. The next mandate will be to consolidate this dynamic, to reap the fruits of the seeds that have now been sown, but it will also be to focus on overcoming some of the problems that we have been witnessing and that have gained greater dimension in recent times, with emphasis on the fight against unemployment.
It is necessary to re-functionalize the existing workforce, as well as the local productive fabric, and boost entrepreneurship in sectors as important as the forest and the transformation of its various products.
It is therefore essential to continue with the policy of investment incentives that we have been implementing, with emphasis on the reduction of IMI and other municipal taxes, with a view to urban regeneration, thus seeking to rehabilitate some areas in the center of the village, but also in the most deprived nuclei of parishes and rural villages.
With this proximity investment, we will generate employment, housing, and create dynamism in local commerce, in addition to the urgent and necessary repopulation of urban centers.
10. The appeal felt by the vast majority of the population, coming from various parties, who know I'm the first to get to work and the last to leave, who know I don't lack ideas or projects, that with my posture, I honor and dignify the name of this land and that even with the serious situation that the country is going through, I never lower my arms and go to fight, lead me to reinforce my firm will to continue working in defense of this People and this council.
I believe that I have all the conditions to continue to affirm Monchique as a reference council, in a selfless commitment to the public service, aware that increasingly, this proximity work requires decisions with determination but also, and especially in the times we have passed, policies with heart, as well as a great social sensitivity to together build a more prosperous future for all.
Rui Andre
2013, March"
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