THE RELATIONSHIP between Cascais Câmara and the Associação Empresarial do Conselho (AECC), the borough’s business association, is going further and further downhill. The most recent episode in their history of clashes stems from the poor performance of the borough’s shops in 2004.
For Cascais business owners, last year was one to be forgotten. The AECC blames the poor performance not only on the country’s political instability, but also on the “incompetence of Cascais Câmara” in developing the necessary strategies to sustain the local economy. The AECC cites the câmara’s licensing of a series of large new shops as being a negative factor. However, the association is particularly angry about the growing use of public thoroughfares for the promotion of the Mayor and his “tired and outdated” câmara, claiming that there has been a 45 per cent increase in the use of public areas in Alcabideche and S. Domingos de Rana. This is space the business owners feel could be utilised in other ways for the improvement of the local economy.
In response to the accusations levelled From page 1
by the AECC, Cascais Câmara President, António Capucho, said: “We are dealing with the kind of comments used by radical parties from the extreme left. Obviously, there are problems, but the council is always available to talk.” He also made it clear that he finds some of the claims being made by the business association to be “completely absurd”. The President concluded his response to the furore by saying: “In reality, there has been no increase in the câmara’s use of public areas.”
