The Court of Auditors has identified irregularities in the procedure that led to the expansion of the Air Resources Centre (CMA) at Cancela Heliport, a project that equipped the Regional Civil Protection Service with the capacity, among other improvements, to accommodate two aircraft. The contract was valued at €199,500. Similar irregularities were also identified in the public tender for motor insurance covering the Civil Protection Service’s vehicle fleet.
An audit of the procurement process concluded that the prior consultation should never have been initiated by the Board of Directors of the Regional Civil Protection Service because, at the time, the board “was not properly constituted in legal terms,” meaning that, in the Court’s view, it effectively had no legal existence.
The audit followed a complaint lodged in 2025, when the governing board consisted solely of its president, despite legislation requiring the appointment of two additional members. According to the report, this meant that the board was, in legal terms, non-existent.
The Court found that the president of the Board of Directors had requested authorisation from the Regional Secretary for Health and Civil Protection to approve the expenditure and delegate the necessary contracting powers. Although the Regional Secretary authorised the expenditure on the 15th of April 2025, the Court concluded that he did not have the legal authority to do so.
Despite identifying this irregularity, the Court considers that any financial liability should rest with the Director of Legal Services and Governance Support within the Regional Secretariat for Health and Civil Protection. It reasons that the expenditure commitment was preceded by a favourable legal opinion issued by that director. Under the Law on the Organisation and Procedure of the Court of Auditors, responsibility for the consequences of the act is transferred to the author of such a legal opinion.
In July last year, DIÁRIO questioned both the Regional Civil Protection Service and the Regional Secretariat for Health and Civil Protection over whether the vacant position on the Board of Directors could undermine decisions taken by its president, Richard Marques. At the time, the Regional Secretariat stated that “the decisions taken by the president of the SRPC, IP-RAM that are not within the scope of the powers delegated to him, were authorised by the tutelage.”
In its report, the Madeira Regional Section of the Court of Auditors recommends that the Regional Secretariat for Health and Civil Protection strengthen oversight of the proper constitution of the governing boards of public institutes under its supervision. It also calls for strict compliance with the rules governing the authorisation of public expenditure and public procurement. The Regional Civil Protection Service has also been instructed to ensure that all management decisions are supported by valid board resolutions or by properly formalised and published delegations of authority.
In its final ruling, the Court ordered that the case be referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. It also instructed the Regional Secretariat for Health and Civil Protection and the Regional Civil Protection Service to report, by the 31st of December this year, on the measures taken to implement its recommendations. A fine of €2,500 was also imposed.
In a separate report published today concerning the procurement of insurance services for the Civil Protection vehicle fleet, the Madeira Regional Section of the Court of Auditors reached similar conclusions. It found that the Board of Directors had, at various times, not been lawfully constituted due to the absence of one of its members.
As a result, the Court ruled that the authorisation of €193,200 in expenditure for a public tender covering motor insurance, approved by the Board of Directors chaired at the time by António Nunes, was unlawful because the board’s deliberations had no legal validity. The Court also identified evidence of potential financial liability on the part of the then president and board member for the alleged breach of rules governing the authorisation of public expenditure.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
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