The State Budget for 2019 foresees an increase in funds for the Culture sector in the Algarve, guaranteed Secretary of State for Culture Ângela Carvalho Ferreira, in an exclusive interview with Sul Informação. In addition to the Regional Directorate of Culture, which sees its budget grow by 2,8% to 5 million euros, there is a considerable increase in sustained support for cultural structures.
The government refutes the criticisms of the PSD, which accused the Government of cutting funding for Culture in the Algarve, and guarantees that you will even invest more. This will immediately be reflected in the total budget of the Regional Directorate of Culture, which will grow 2,8% compared to 2018.
The General Revenue Budget for the Algarve «will have an increase of 19,5% compared to 2018, a total of 215 thousand euros. This is an increase of 44% compared to 2015».
“The issues that have been raised [by the opposition] have to do with lower spending on investment projects. What does this mean? The financed projects had a large part of their budget in 2018. Obviously, those that were not completed will carry over to 2019, but their great weight was in this year's budget», explained the Secretary of State for Culture.
The work «with the greatest scope is that of requalification of the Sagres Fortress", but it is not the only one underway and is expected to end in 2020. "Until then, we will also complete the interventions in Paderne Castle, the megalithic monuments of Alcalar and the Roman ruins of Milreu," said the governor.
So why did this criticism from the opposition arise? "What happened was that, in the justification note for the budget, there is a comparison with regard to projects for the acquisition of capital goods in the heritage area," he explained.
“Here, there is less growth, according to what is said, compared to other regional directions. But, if we were to compare the Algarve Regional Directorate's budget with that of other regions, it is not that different. In Alentejo, it is 4,2 million and, in the Center, it is 5,9 million. And the Center has three monuments that are Heritage of Humanity», added Ângela Ferreira.
The Secretary of State for Culture defends, in this way, “that this type of comparison cannot be made. What I explained in the Assembly of the Republic is that the weight of the works at the Sagres Fortress was much greater in 2018 than it will be in 2019 and that is why there is this smaller growth in terms of project funds».
In addition to the budget of the Algarve Regional Directorate, there is more money on the way to the Algarve, in this sector, since «the Government's investment in the area of culture, in the Algarve, cannot be summed up in this entity's budget».
Ângela Ferreira highlighted the investment of 1,5 million that will be made in the current edition of “365Algarve”, which lasts until May 2019, but also the allocation of 600 thousand euros to the Orquestra Clássica do Sul, «which, for the first time, has a statute of its own'.
On the other hand, support from the General Directorate of Arts to the Algarve's cultural structures for the 2018-2021 quadrennium has already been approved. The 2,8 million euros earmarked for the Algarve make the region «the one that grew the most compared to the previous cycle of support», guaranteed the Secretary of State.
In addition to having seen the value of support grow by 139%, «the Algarve had 78% of its applications approved, above the national average, which was 76%».
“In 2019 alone, support will amount to 1,3 million euros. For a reference, in 2014, which was also the second year of the previous cycle of Sustained Support, 600 thousand euros came to the region», illustrated the Secretary of State for Culture, in an interview with Sul Informação.
However, there are monuments in the Algarve closed, because the Regional Directorate of Culture does not have enough staff to keep them open. “The regional director has already made me a mirror of the reality of her staff. Although this one is not that small, we have the age group problem. There are many people approaching the retirement age and there are several low staff», admitted the official.
The Ministry of Culture is «assessing how to solve this problem and, together with the Regional Directorate of Culture of the Algarve, to see what solutions can be found to keep the monuments open».
This solution may involve, on the one hand, partnerships with local authorities - which will even receive some of the heritage existing in their councils., within the scope of the decentralization of competences to the local authorities, but also with other entities.
"We are, together with the Internal Administration, studying the possibility of GNR soldiers who are already doing more administrative work to help Culture with regard to the surveillance and security of monuments", he assured, to Sul Informação, Angela Carvalho Ferreira.
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