Paulo Cafôfo assured today, that housing is the main priority for the PS-Madeira, and defended that the millions of euros, referring to the illegal support that was granted to companies in the Free Trade Zone, which the Tax Authority has been recovering, be channelled into the construction and rehabilitation of houses and rental support.
At a press conference held in São Gonçalo, where the contract for the construction of 54 dwellings with funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) as stopped, the leader of the socialists warned that the big problem in the Region is currently housing, pointing out the fact that there are more than 4000 people on housing support waiting lists and, due to high market prices, the middle class and young people are unable to buy or rent a home.
Strongly critical, Paulo Cafôfo said that this “outdated” Regional Government has been unable to implement the necessary solutions, highlighting that what has been done is only due to the PRR funds obtained by the PS Government of António Costa, which were doubled for the Region.
The socialist leader said that the PS wants to be the Regional Government that it has the solutions for this and other problems of the Madeirans. Referring to the illegal support that was granted to companies in the Free Trade Zone between 2009 and 2022, Cafôfo noted that the Tax Authority has already managed to recover 66 million euros out of a total of 839 million and considered that these revenues, which were not foreseen, “should be channelled in their entirety to housing, whether for the construction of new housing, rental support or for the rehabilitation of houses.”
This is, as he stressed, a good idea of how to find funding for the sector, since “what has been done is not enough to solve the problems.” The president of the PS-M accused the Regional Government of not being able to achieve what it promised, even when the money from the PRR “fell into his lap.”
“1,121 dwellings were promised, but now there are only 805,” he said, also criticizing the fact that the construction of the 54 dwellings in São Gonçalo has ceased due to disagreements between the builder and the Madeiran Executive. “These properties should have been delivered in September and they weren’t. Therefore, not even the 805 we think could be available are there,” he predicted.
Paulo Cafôfo drew attention to the need to find solutions and warned that a Government serves to serve people and not to serve itself.
“What we have seen with the court cases is that this government has served itself and has not served the people. With the PS, priorities will be established to solve the problems and housing is clearly the greatest priority of our governance.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
