Families and the challenges they face, both in terms of income and expenditure, will be at the center of the policies of the recently inaugurated executive councilor from Olhão, he told the Sul Informação António Pina, who started his third and last term as Mayor yesterday, the 14th, at night.
The socialist, who achieved a "historic" victory, since it is the second consecutive time that he has won the election "with an overwhelming majority, from 5 to 2 councilors", took advantage of his investiture speech to thank his family, his former comrades. of councilors, to talk about the future, but also to leave messages that are not sympathetic to the opposition.
For the rest, the inauguration ceremony of those elected to the municipal bodies of Olhão was marked by a clear tension between the mayors and the AM towards the opposition, a consequence of the electoral campaign which, for now, was left with warnings to the navigation.
What is certain is that, in practice, the PS has a very comfortable majority, either in one or another body, which will allow it to govern smoothly.
In the Chamber, the PS, in addition to President António Pina, elected four more councilors: Elsa Parreira, Ricardo Calé, João Evaristo and Catarina do Poço. The other two councilors, Álvaro Viegas and Daniel Santana, were elected by the PSD/MPT/PPM/A coalition.
In the Municipal Assembly, the socialists have 11 elected members, who are joined by three other council presidents, that is, 14 out of 25 members of this body. The PSD/MPT/PPM/A has six elements, five directly elected and a Chairman of the Board. Chega has two municipal deputies and CDU, BE and PAN have one each.
Here, there is a curious fact: The two elected from Chega to this organ are the 4th and 5th elements of the list, «taking into account the resignations presented on the 29th and 30th of September by the citizens listed in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place on the list », as announced at the session.
Ao Sul Informação, António Pina anticipated how he intends to use the power conferred by these majorities.
“The objective is to serve the people of Olho and their families. And, as such, we are going to focus on what is the family economy and, from there, approach how we can help families», explained the mayor of Olhão.
On the revenue side, "what we have to do is increase the level of job offer, so that it is not only in greater quantity, but, above all, better paid".
The Chamber is going to “bet strongly in creating more spaces so that companies can grow and establish themselves. At the same time, we are going to prepare complexes for companies linked to innovation and technology, whether in the maritime sector, or in the digital and computer sector, to attract them».
On the other hand, there is tourism.
For the president of the Chamber, Olhão still has "less tourism", although there are voices that criticize the growth of this sector.
“This is another one of the wrong narratives that are made by some opposition. It is obvious that Olhão, which did not have any tourism, feels some effects less well, there is always greater pressure».
“But this sector brought a lot of employability and produced wealth. That's why we moved from the 2nd municipality in the Algarve with the highest unemployment rate, in 2013, to the 2nd municipality with the highest percentage of employed people, in 2019», he said.
Investing in tourism and in the technological sector does not mean that one will stop “betting on what are traditional activities, namely the development of aquaculture, fisheries, industry, agriculture and floriculture”.
On the expenditure side, “the biggest that families have is housing. It is a drama of the country, of the big cities, especially on the coast».
«We are going to intensify the offer of affordable housing, whether for rent or for purchase, such as the 54 dwellings that we are already building and in which a T2 is around 110 thousand euros, which is a value within the reach of almost all families, since that both work», he anticipated.
At issue is «an income of 350 euros per month, which, in the case of two people receiving the minimum wage, is about 25% of the family budget».
The construction of affordable housing, which in practice are houses at controlled costs, but not social housing – which is not in António Pina's plans, in addition to the projects already under way – will be “the great flag” of this mandate.
«We have already contracted a loan for the purchase of the old lithograph, which more recently was Alicoop. It is a financing of almost 30 million to build almost 300 homes», he revealed.
Another big expense for families, particularly the younger ones, is with their children. "It is more expensive to have a child in the first three or four years of life than to have it at university."
«Here, we want, above all, to complete the public offer of kindergarten, from the age of three, in public schools, which is the direct responsibility of the municipality. Six more rooms are already planned, with guaranteed financing, with which we will be able to respond to 100%», he promised.
At the level of crèches, for children from zero to 3, “there is still a big gap and the offer is very expensive”.
“We want to work with the IPSS in order to take advantage of the European funds that are coming there, to increase the number of rooms. But, beyond that, it is necessary to help to finance», considered António Pina.
Another way found by the Chamber to help families is through the financing of passes.
"The investment we have already made will allow all citizens who travel on the road system within the municipality to pay no more than 13 euros a month, taking advantage of everything in our municipal network, but also intercity careers, as long as they are traveling within the county».
Then, «it is to continue to take care of this large condominium, providing more spaces for enjoyment, continuing with the rehabilitation of another riverfront avenue, next to the Fishing Port, an intervention in Fuzeta similar to the one we did in Olhão and the pavements , a work that is always necessary and that will start tomorrow [today]. I hope that people then have a good memory and don't say that it's only when there are elections (laughs)».
Olhão will also bet on the «sports and culture part».
“Betting on sport is important, not only for the physical aspect, but also for the mental one. On the other hand, it is a way to contribute against the isolation of our young people, due to the calls of social networks. You have to get them out of the house», believes António Pina.
Culture can also help in this last aspect. “This was a sector that suffered a lot from the pandemic. Everything has stopped and now it's necessary to give a big stimulus, whether for the productions financed by the autarchy, or for the local cultural production».
After the swearing in of the municipal bodies of Olhão for the next quadrennium, the first meeting of the Municipal Assembly took place, where the only candidate list for the board, composed of António Cabrita (president), Alberto Dias Mestre (1st secretary) and Isilda Moreno (2nd secretary), all elected by the PS, was elected with 17 “yes” votes, one “no” vote and seven blank votes.
António Cabrita, after being re-elected president of AM, warned that he would not allow "personal attacks" or interventions "of his own political promotion", promising, at the same time, that he would "respect the rights of the opposition, even though it is in a minority".
Photos: Hugo Rodrigues | Sul Informação
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