The District Political Commission of the PSD Algarve today accused the Government of not having «money or strategy for the region», so «the “Bazooka” will pass by» the region.
In a statement, the social democrats stress that the Algarve “is going through the biggest crisis in memory. No other region in the country suffers such a reduction in GDP and an increase in unemployment, the latter registering year-on-year increases that have fluctuated between 60% and 200%, depending on the month. The Algarve is experiencing an economic and social tragedy».
In this sense, «it was expected that the Recovery and Resilience Plan, aka bazooka, would take care of the need to intervene more robustly in territories where there is greater destruction of productive capacity, especially after the Government had abdicated the specific emergency plan for the region it had announced in July'.
However, stresses the PSD, "none of this happens".
Because, they argue, «of the 13,9 billion euros expected to be implemented by 2026, the Algarve will directly benefit from a share of 1,7%, close to 250 million euros, far short of the close to 5% of the population and of the economy it owns'.
There are «decisive investments for the region» that were excluded: «the Hospital Central do Algarve, the upgrading of the EN-125, the train connection to the airport and Spain, the Port of Portimão, just to name the most obvious. This means that by 2026 these interventions will not be a reality”.
On the other hand, stresses the Algarvian PSD, «the sectors most affected by the crisis – tourism, restaurants and commerce – do not have any funds foreseen for their recovery, a fact that, in a region like the Algarve, mostly dependent on these activities, with companies highly indebted and employment at severe risk, is very harmful».
The only positive aspect that the PSD/Algarve finds in the PRR is “the forecast of funds for the region's water efficiency, in order to structure a response to climate change”.
However, even there, the social democrats consider that “it is negative that the document does not present any vision of change for the region, based on the diversification of economic activities, with a view to building a more balanced economy, more socially inclusive and structurally more responsible".
It is also “negative” that the PRR “does not contemplate measures to attract investment in more stunted sectors, refrain from developing areas with potential – such as the sea, biotechnology, etc. – nor invest in qualifying already settled areas that need to progress in the chain of value".
In short, guarantees the PSD Algarve's CPD in its statement, «the “bazooka” will pass by the Algarve, squandering a sovereign opportunity to attack chronic bottlenecks and overcome a development paradigm that is close to exhaustion».
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