Câmaras in Portugal take an average of 122 days to pay suppliers, with Portimão topping the list of late payers.
According to data released by the General-Directorate of Local Administration, in 2011 câmaras took an additional 22 days to pay service providers when compared to the previous year, averaging 122 days to settle their bills.
Portimão Câmara, however, took an average of 899 days and Faro 642 days, sixth on the list of late payers.
Portugal’s main municipalities, Lisbon and Porto, take 96 and 16 days respectively. The quickest payer is Anadia Câmara in central Portugal.
Fernando Ruas, President of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP), said the worsening of medium term debt was expected due to the current crisis leading to budgetary cuts and a loss in tax revenue.
He was, however, more concerned about the short term debt, which amounted to €1.5 billion euros.
“The solution is to create credit lines to help pay this short-term debt. We are working with the government to resolve the situation,” he said.
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