The President of PS-Madeira criticised the Regional Government today for what she described as its repeated failure to deliver on promises made to the people of Madeira, pointing to the new hospital project as the latest example.
Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of the party’s Political Committee, Célia Pessegueiro commented on the fact that the tender for the third phase of the new hospital was left without any bidders. She challenged the Regional Government to publicly explain the difficulties identified by companies that led them not to proceed with the project.
The socialist leader stressed that the hospital is an extremely important project for the Region and warned that it now faces yet another delay. She recalled that the inauguration of the infrastructure had initially been promised for 2024 and was later postponed to 2029.
“With this new setback, when will Madeira finally have its hospital?” She questioned.
Célia Pessegueiro also pointed to what she considers further evidence of government incompetence in the management of projects financed through the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR). As an example, she highlighted the loss of more than half of the care home beds that had originally been announced.
“A plan is presented with a defined strategy and priority areas for the Region, but then there is a complete failure in the capacity to invest in those same areas, while the money is diverted elsewhere,” she argued.
She warned that the consequences are particularly serious in the case of elderly care, affecting not only users but also their families, many of whom are still left without answers or support.
At the same time, following the announcement of the PTRR, the PS-Madeira leader accused the Regional Government of lacking both negotiating ability and transparency. According to her, the Executive claimed to have submitted 80 measures to be included in the programme, yet only two have been publicly revealed: the extension of Pontinha and the completion of the North Coast road project.
“The Government should explain what the other 78 measures are, their implementation timetable, and their respective costs.”
For Célia Pessegueiro, the situation suggests that the Government’s claims are misleading, arguing that the Republic’s Government has not committed any concrete funding for Madeira.
She also criticised what she described as the poor relationship between the Madeiran Executive and the national Government, warning that the Region risks losing out on important investments because the programme currently lacks clear deadlines, funding commitments, and concrete measures.
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