Élvio Sousa, Secretary-General of the Juntos pelo Povo (JPP) party, has accused the Minister of Infrastructure, Miguel Pinto Luz, of suppressing the economic and financial study regarding the maritime ferry link for passengers and goods between the Autonomous Region of Madeira and the Portuguese mainland.
In a formal statement, Mr Sousa highlighted what he described as the unusual insensitivity of the central PSD/CDS-PP government toward the mobility requirements of island populations.
According to the JPP leader, the central government has retreated from its initial commitment to launch an international public tender for the route’s operation, opting instead to commission a technical report, the deadline for which expired at the end of May. Mr Sousa criticised the lack of transparency surrounding the document and questioned the parameters of the specifications, claiming that the study was premised on the assumption “that the ferry connection is inherently deficient.”
The deputy also suggested that external influences are affecting the process, alluding to complaints from the most recent private operator of the service, and accused the Minister of pursuing a flawed strategy. “The Minister appears to have followed the ‘DDT’ (Dono Disto Tudo, ‘Owner of Everything’) playbook: designing an operation to fail, and then declaring its inevitable failure,” the parliamentarian stated.
The largest opposition party in Madeira is now demanding full transparency and has urged the Government of the Republic to publish the findings of the report. “If the study has been completed, why is it not being disclosed?” Asked Mr Sousa, calling on the executive to make an unequivocal decision regarding the future of the maritime link.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
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