The Government will present a new Local Finance Law “Update” in a “transparent, predictable and fair” manner the financial resources framework so that municipalities can exercise new powers regarding decentralization, the prime minister said this Sunday.
We are focused on being able to present, in dialogue with the municipalities, a new Local Finance Law that can update this new framework and provide in a transparent, predictable and fair manner the financial resources that the municipalities need to exercise the powers assigned to them. . assigned,” stated Luís Montenegro, referring to the decentralization of State powers.
The social democrat had already stated in May that the executive would “revisit” the diploma to “give it greater predictability and greater confidence.”
In his speech this Sunday at an event to mark the 50th anniversary of the elevation of the city of Póvoa de Varzim, in the district of Porto, the head of Government reaffirmed his commitment to decentralization, arguing that the process “is only worth It’s a shame if the capabilities are real. , if they are not only apparent and if there are financial means to execute these powers.”
Changing this legislation has been a demand from local authorities. In May, the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities proposed, “in the true sense of the term, a new Local Finance Law: a law that modernizes Portugal and is in itself a reform of the State, making it more efficient and closer to the people.” . ”.
Faced with criticism from the opposition to the work of the executive (PSD/CDS-PP), Luís Montenegro said that, although not everyone believes in his project and many have different ideas, “the Government of the Republic was elected by the people , the Government Program was presented to the Assembly of the Republic.”
If the main criticism that they want to continue making against the Government is that the Government is executing its Program, then they will get tired of criticizing, because we will take this Program to the end,” he assured.
In a municipality with an economic activity strongly marked by fishing and tourism, the governor highlighted that “never has a Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries been at the side of a Minister of Environment and Energy so many times.” These, he added, are “two sectors that go hand in hand and can never be in conflict, you can never think that one of them is worth more than the other.” And he defended: “In agriculture, fishing, tourism, the environment must be preserved. But it is also necessary to guarantee the sustainability of these economic activities and the people who promote them on the ground.”
Luís Montenegro took the opportunity to list some of the areas in which the Executive intervened in the first months of government, using Education as an example. “We took office a short time ago, we have already had the opportunity to decide important things: in public schools, give more stability to public schools, with measures that they want, and I hope they can even achieve, greater capacity to have teachers in schools. , so that we do not have so many thousands of students who fall behind in their learning because they do not have a teacher for at least one subject,” he indicated.
“In Health, with a program that is emergency and transformative. In Social Solidarity, helping pensioners who are the poorest of the poor, those who have an income of less than 550 euros and which we have now raised to 600 euros,” she added.
The Prime Minister also highlighted measures in the areas of Housing, “a fundamental sector for many Portuguese to remain in Portugal”, and Immigration, “which regulates the entry and stay of immigrants”.
“Immigrants that we need, that we want to welcome and integrate with dignity. And it is precisely when we think about a dignified integration that we must not close the door, but neither should we leave it completely open,” he stated.
Source: Observadora
