FORMER FARO Câmara President, José Vitorino has accused the current president, José Apolinário, of “political dishonesty and incompetence” for blaming the rise in câmara tariffs and delays in water works on the previous administration.
Following an announcement by the câmara, work will soon begin in Faro to expand the water and drainage network in the area to reach more residents living in rural areas.
The issue was raised by former câmara president José Vitorino, who, in his final term in office, announced that the work was ready to begin. Nearly two years later, with a different political party in office and José Apolinário at the helm, the work has yet to commence.
Apolinário’s administration rebuked the implication that the câmara was disorganised and incompetent by saying that the previous administration made many promises they could not keep.
Water, drainage and refuse collection rates in Faro will be increased for the first time in six years, but Apolinário promised that a special rate would be put into effect for the elderly and families on state benefits.
Between 2001 and 2005, during Vitorino’s term as Faro Câmara President, the rates were unaltered, but the current administration has increased them in line with inflation, which is two per cent. The rates will not affect the elderly, people earning minimum wage, families on state benefit and people with low water consumption.
Water treatment will cost more than two million euros this year and the cost for treating a cubic metre of sewage will be 45 cents. Tariffs corresponding to refuse collection will also rise this year by an average of 15.7 per cent.
The câmara has been accused of mismanaging funds and some critics have attributed the rise to refuse collection company, FAGAR, demanding more money without expanding their field of collection and the câmara automatically agreeing.
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