The Intermunicipal Community (CIM) of the Leiria Region claims that it is “unfair and unfair” to hold local authorities responsible for delays in the reconstruction processes of houses affected by bad weather, refuting Castro Almeida’s statements.
“(…) The CIM considers the attempt to attribute responsibilities to local authorities for delays in a process whose rules, structure and operating model were defined, unilaterally, by the Government to be deeply unfair and unfair.”says a statement sent to the Lusa agency.
In the statement, the Leiria Region, which was most affected by the bad weather, maintains that the government official’s statements “do not correspond to the reality of the process on the ground and reveal an incorrect reading of the responsibilities attributed to the different entities”.
According to the CIM, “it was by exclusive decision of the Government that the verification of applications for support for the reconstruction of housing was sent to the municipalities”without “prior consultation with local authorities and without the necessary reinforcement of resources” to ensure a rapid response.
On the other hand, the CIM notes that it was the Government that defined the rules. These determine that “applications up to 5,000 euros must be analyzed within a maximum period of three working days after complete instruction, while applications between 5,000 and 10,000 euros have a maximum period of 15 days”and the deadlines were set without taking into account the operational capacity of the municipalities.
Furthermore, “a large part of the municipalities to which the Government transferred this responsibility were also directly affected by the bad weather”, in addition to “many of these municipalities do not have sufficient technical resources to simultaneously respond to the management of the emergency on the ground and the analysis of thousands of applications”.
“This reality was known to the Government since the beginning of the process”highlights the Region of Leiria, adding that the municipalities resorted to “extraordinary mechanisms of external collaboration”, such as that of various professional orders.
This support, however, “has been provided on a voluntary basis and subject to the availability of each professional”, reads the statement.
The CIM further clarifies that “all analyzed applications are subsequently subject to a second validation by the Regional Coordination and Development Committees”but “more than 90% of applications previously verified by technical teams have been returned to municipalities for reformulation or additional clarifications”which “contradicts the alleged administrative simplification announced by the Government”.
The CIM says that, six weeks after Depression Kristin hit the region, affected citizens and businesses continue to await “effective support to allow them to rebuild their lives and activities.”
However, so far, “in addition to new lines of debt destined for companies through national banks, there are no visible consistent compensations that correspond to the Government’s successive public announcements”.
From the executive, the Leiria Region demands immediate clarification to the affected populations and companies, “as well as an urgent review and simplification of the management model of this application validation process”.
The CIM includes the municipalities of Alvaiázere, Ansião, Batalha, Castanheira de Pera, Figueiró dos Vinhos, Leiria, Marinha Grande, Pedrógão Grande, Pombal and Porto de Mós.
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