BE expressed its concern this Tuesday with the organization of the World Youth Day 2023, including the changes in the Lisbon Chamber, and argued that public contracts must be “scrupulously fulfilled“, to reduce the risk of corruption.
“We are one year away from the largest event that has ever taken place in Portugal and doubts remain about the role of the various entities, as well as the total investment in the event,” said the Lisbon municipality of Bloco de Esquerda (BE), in a sentence.
The party delivered this Monday a set of petitions to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing, the Lisbon City Council and the Loures City Council on World Youth Day 2023 (WMJLisboa2023), posing six questions related to the preparation of the eventincluding which contracts will be used and which entity is responsible for each contract, what its status is and what its value is.
Recognizing the importance of JMJLisboa2023, the Bloco challenged the public statements of political leaders who defended an exceptional regime to overcome the visas of the Court of Auditors provided for by law, stating that this “it would be unacceptable“, by reducing the transparency of the use of public money and by increasing the risk of corruption.
BE considers it necessary that “all procurement procedures provided for in the Public Procurement Code be scrupulously complied with, defending transparency and reducing the risk of corruption”.
Another blocker concern is compliance with the Labor Code in the organization and realization of the event, arguing that “it will not be acceptable that the people involved in the construction of infrastructures do not have their labor rights guaranteed”.
The party proposes the preparation of a report on measures to mitigate the impact of the event in the area (Parque Tejo), specifically in terms of public transport, waste collection or street cleaning.
Among the “signs that worry” the BE regarding the organization of the event is the dismissal of the responsibility of the World Youth Day 2023 to the councilor Laurinda Alves, of the Lisbon City Council, by the president of the executive, Carlos Moedas ( PSD) , as well as the conduct of the mandate contract of the municipal company Lisboa Ocidental SRU – Sociedade de Reabilitação Urbana, last week at the Municipal Assembly of Lisbon, by abstention of the municipal group of the PSDmaking the funds provided for the preparation of the event unfeasible.
The Bloc criticizes that “just now” this mandate contract for the Western SRU of Lisbon is being discussed, which provides 17 million euros for JMJLisboa2023, “when public tenders usually take months to be instructed and launched“.
The mayor of Lisbon decided to change the delegation of powers in the coordination of the World Youth Day, removing the responsibility from councilor Laurinda Alves to assign it to the vice president of the municipal executive, Filipe Anacoreta Correia (CDS-PP).
In an order signed on July 18 and published three days later in the Municipal Bulletin, Carlos Moedas delegated to the vice president the general coordination of all municipal activities aimed at organizing and holding the event, “in close articulation with the councilor Laurinda Alves, that is, in promoting the promotion of participation in the event“.
A source from the mayor’s office told Lusa that “it is not a departure of councilor Laurinda Alves” from the organization of JMJLisboa2023, but a reinforcement of the team, for a “broader collaborationof all the responsible councilors, “given the importance and dimension of this event”, in the sense of working so that “everything runs in the best way”.
After this news, the PS expressed its concern about the decision regarding Laurinda Alves, considering that “this real dismissal” reflects “disorientation” Y “breakdown” from the direction of the PSD/CDS-PP.
JMJLisboa2023 will take place from August 1 to 6 next year in the Parque das Nações area, in Lisbon, also covering part of the territory of the municipality of Loures, in an event that includes the presence of Pope Francis and in which more than one million young people around the world.
Source: Observadora
