This afternoon, the Porto Moniz City Council reacted with “surprise and expectation” to remarks by the Regional Secretary for Equipment and Infrastructures about the Regional Government’s planned work in Seixal after the latest collapse. In a statement, the municipality led by socialist Olavo Câmara said it had asked for an audience with the President of the Regional Government just over a month after taking office to discuss this issue, but no reply has been received. It also said it requested a meeting with the Secretary, whom it accused of confusing the defence of the population with political demagoguery, and expressed hope that the upcoming meeting will clarify the points raised in the letter. The council stressed that the warnings are old and that the incidents are not new, arguing that the public comments reflect the failure of a Government that has repeatedly delayed essential action. According to the municipality, residents who travel daily to and from the municipality are forced to use unsafe roads and face the constant risk of falling stones. It added that the area has long been considered dangerous and recalled that the Regional Government had already prepared and costed a project worth about 5 million euros, with funding included in multi-year investment plans from 2017 to 2022. The council said that in 2023 this investment disappeared from the plans without explanation, and that in just one month there were two collapses, with the first met by a refusal to intervene because of a supposed lack of funds and the second followed by an announcement of intervention. The municipality now wants the Regional Government to set a clear time window for the contract and avoid once again presenting only another project, another study, or another investment without actual improvement work.
