The municipalities of Olhão and São Brás de Alportel want to merge into a single municipality, in an attempt to "gain scale" and become "more competitive". The two municipalities will not wait for a possible new administrative reform at the level of the municipal map, such as the one that led to the merger of parishes and intend to have the process concluded before the next municipal elections.
The executives of the two councils, both from the PS, are already in very advanced talks and the matter will soon be taken to the Chamber Meeting. It is true that there are still many edges to be filed, but it will be difficult to stop the process.
«I think it is the desire of all São Brasenses to be able to say that they are going to Praia in their own municipality. We always said that, from São Brás, you can also see the sea. Now, residents can say that in São Brás, there is also the sea. The future council will also gain enormous potential in terms of tourism», illustrated the mayor of São Brás de Alportel Vítor Guerreiro, speaking to Sul Informação.
António Pina, for his part, highlights the advantages that Olhão can derive from the link between coastal and mountain dynamics, at the economic level, as well as the gains in scale at the population level. «There has always been this relationship between the people of Olhão and São Brás, namely with regard to commercial exchanges. This merger will enable them to be strengthened and will increase the competitiveness of both municipalities», he believes.
Right now, the biggest doubts reside in the name of the future council. A combination of the current names of the two municipalities is unlikely, so a new name is expected. «There is still no certainty, but we are considering launching an ideas contest to find the ideal name», revealed António Pina.
NOTE: As most of our readers have noticed, this is not news, but rather a April 1st joke. Although the idea of merging municipalities wasn't even bad at all...
We would like to thank our readers and the two mayors mentioned here for their collaboration in this game.
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