The Court of Auditors (TdC) has issued an overall favourable opinion on the 2022 Account of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, the year in which the public debt amounted to 5,009 million euros, the President of the Institution, José Tavares, said recently.
“In our opinion, following the audits we carried out, the Account that was provided to the Court by the Government [of the PSD/CDS-PP coalition] also reflects truly and appropriately the situation in the region for the year 2022,” he said.
José Tavares was speaking to journalists at the premises of the parliament of Madeira, in Funchal, where he travelled to deliver the opinions on the accounts of Madeira and the Legislative Assembly for 2022, the year in which the regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reached the highest value ever – 6,021 million euros, 14.2% more in real terms compared to 2021.
Regarding the Region Account, the TdC’s opinion is “globally favorable,” but with several recommendations.
José Tavares pointed to the fact that the region’s debt has increased by only 32 million euros compared to 2021, which represents a “certain stability in indebtedness,” but warned of multiannual charges, namely derived from public-private partnerships (PPPs), which will imply the payment of around 3.2 billion euros by 2027.
The TdC also highlights the “excessive dependence” of Madeira’s autonomous services and funds, as well as public companies, on the Regional Budget.
“It means that the autonomy of these entities is a very tenuous, fragile autonomy, as they depend on a very high percentage of the Region’s Budget,” warned José Tavares.
The President of the Court of Auditors drew attention, on the other hand, to the fact that the Madeiran executive, led by the social democrat Miguel Albuquerque, granted around 256 million euros in subsidies to individuals and private companies in 2022, stressing that they should be allocated judiciously and that, above all, a regular evaluation of the results of the funds granted should be made.
“We also underline that there is a very low implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan [RRP], recommending accordingly that there should be more intense monitoring and enforcement,” said José Tavares.
The official warned that the Regional Government had executed in 2022 only 9.7 million euros of RRP funds, out of the approximately 561 million that Madeira will receive until 2026.
On the other hand, the Court of Auditors recommends that the Regional Secretariat for Finance be “more rigorous in the budget forecast of revenue from the European Union, given the systematic and significant difference between the collection expectations materialised in the Budget and the amount annually collected.”
Regarding the 2022 Legislative Assembly of Madeira Account, the TdC signaled that it reflects “truthfully and appropriately” the financial situation of the institution, chaired by centrist José Manuel Rodrigues, on the 31st of December 2022.
“It is a favorable judgment, with some recommendations,” said José Tavares, highlighting two: the need to provide for the implementation of procedures to monitor the control of inventoried assets and the need to work for the filling of the position of coordinator of the Financial Department. This situation has since been resolved.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
