Madeira News Blog

(11th August). ‘Trade Unions Of TAP Call A Strike For The End Of August And In September – The strike will hit flights for Madeira’. 5 trade unions representing TAP workers have called the coordinated strike for 28th & 29th August, and 11th & 12th September. In a statement to the media, Vitor Mesquita, leader of the Workers Union for Aviation and Airports, said that workers are demanding a wage review and clarification of collective bargaining.

(10th August). ‘Unfair competition and unlawful acts in the ‘Safaris’. The off-road trips for tourists are a growing activity on Madeira, but often the law is disregarded. That creates a particularly difficult situation for an island that depends heavily on tourism, and where the necessary care is not present in the the quality of services offered to visitors. Some voices however criticise the law that is detached from reality. One way or another, the truth is that the extent of illegalities detected is extensive and ranges from the use of drivers without proper qualifications for the job (the law requires a tourism approved driver / mountain guide / guide-interpreter), to the use of vehicles in a poor state of repair and of questionable safety, and through the placement of cards (permits?) allocated to ‘jeep’ agencies’ in unlicensed vehicles belonging to third parties. One company in the sector said "For a start there is little regulation. Since 2006, when my company began to operate, I can assure you that we never had any checks, and never saw anyone doing them. Also, I see almost every day examples of the companies that do not comply with the law, including the provision of qualified drivers. The market is being distorted and those, who like me, comply with the law are the worst affected".

‘Passengers In The Airport Of Madeira Fall 3.2% – The airport lost seven thousand passengers in July compared to the same month in 2008′. The numbers relate to arrival and departure movements. The airport operator ANAM reports that there were 213,941 passengers last month. The decline was mainly due to a 19.1% fall in international traffic, down to 96,135 (118,839 in July 2008), but was mostly offset by an increase in domestic travellers, up 15.4% to 117,086, now representing 55% of all airport passenger movements.

‘Hotels On Porto Santo ‘Resolved’ This Year’. With the threat of the closure of several hotels during the low season this Winter, and still without a tour operator interested in bringing tourists to the island during the low season, the matter of new bed capacity is being questioned, taking into account the prospect of the three new hotels promised. With the Colombo Resort (on hold with financial difficulties), the hotel promised by Cristiano Ronaldo, and the Pestana Dunas (postponed), the council believe it will be a matter of some time until they are moved forward. The Pestana unit will go ahead, and although the work was originally planned to commence early in 2009, work should start at the end of this year, or early next, with the opening in 2011. Pestana already have the licences necessary, and have already started marketing units priced at €259,000. The socialist candidate there in the forthcoming elections is challenging the hotel strategy, asking "who benefits from all this?", with no guarantees of more jobs or opportunities for businesses, whilst tourism is so depressed.

‘Doggy Hotels Also Feel The Crisis’. Apparently dog hotels in the Algarve have seen a drop in bookings of 50 to 60%. A cat hotel too, that was full last August, is just 30% booked for this month, but 80% of their clients are English, French and German. People who used to travel back to their birth countries 3 times a year, are now travelling just once, and leaving their pets with friends and neighbours to be looked after. For one day at €7, the hotel for felines, offers custom hand-painted rooms, "room service" with morning greetings to each guest by the name of the animal, delicacies and water. There are also hygiene care and veterinary services in case of sudden illness. The "check in" Hotel for Dogs can be done between 09:00 and 19:00 and the service is door to door, with taxi, which collects and returns the animal to the owner. If the owners can’t afford to put their dogs in the hotels, when they go off on holiday I guess their pets have to sleep ruff?

There is a general article about the bus company Horários do Funchal, financial stuff and so on, but I was amazed by some of the facts and figures in the article. In 2008, it carried 27.2 million passengers, on journeys amounting to 9 million kilometres. It has 626 employees, all men apart from 35, costing in wages, employment costs, etc. €13.4 million a year.

(9th August). ‘Not Even With Jellyfish And Pollution – During July, the beaches of Funchal continued very popular’. A somewhat more upbeat account than the recent Jornal article about the jellyfish. Even with the complaints about pollution and jellyfish, Madeirans continued to frequent the beaches last month. The company that manages the beach and pool complexes in Funchal, Frente MarFunchal, reports that the number of entrances at Lido, Barreirinha, Ponta Gorda, and Doca do Cavacas rose to 92,000 in July, compared to just 31,000 in June. Lido alone saw 41,138 admissions in July, up also on 2008, with Ponta Gorda admitting 39,251 people. Sea water tests taken up to 2nd August all indicated good quality clean water for swimming at all the Funchal beaches. Sea water quality tests will continue until the end of September. The results can be seen here WATER QUALITY but to save a look, all the beaches of Madeira currently rate GOOD, except Ponta do Sol and Porto da Cruz (both ACCEPTABLE). On the website go to the tab at the top DADOS SINTETIZADOS, and then QUALIDADE DA ÁGUA,  then click Madeira when the map comes up.

(7th August). ‘PS Responds To Visit With Threats – After an incident with Jaime Leandro in São Martinho, the socialists remind that MPs don’t need permission to visit works’. They don’t need permits, and they don’t need to give advance warning to visit the sites of government works and services. That’s a power that deputies (MPs) in the Madeira Assembly have, just needing to present an ID card at the location to gain easy access. It was on the strength of this legislation that the socialist member of the PS-M, Jaime Leandro, requested entry to the works on a road connecting the Estrada Monumental to the via-rápida, next to the Hotel Madeira Palace, late afternoon on Wednesday. The deputy managed to gain access, but on his return five minutes later, according to Leandro, some individuals crossed the road and hurled insults and threats at him. The situation, as reported in yesterday’s Jornal, forced Jaime Leandro to call the police for fear for of his physical safety. Those responsible for the threats have been identified and Leandro admits that he is proceeding with a complaint. The contractor responsible for the work (Tâmega) didn’t wish to comment on the situation, but the regional secretary responsible for the project says that Leandro hadn’t asked permission to visit the site. Leandro says he visited the site to investigate complaints of working at night, causing disturbances to residents in Amparo, "all down to inauguration fever", he says. He fears that the socialists will soon find it necessary to have a "PSD card" (PSD-M party membership?) to enter the works and services of the government. After the incident and the threats that he received, and the reaction of the government, the Socialists are now planning to go and see more works. That guarantee was given by members of the PS-M who are already preparing to travel to several work sites that are being finished, and should be opened in September and October.

‘PSD Of Calheta ‘Steal’ Two Candidates From The CDS / PP’. The orange colour of the PSD seems more palatable than the blue and yellow, as Idalina Sá and Olga Sequeira switched their loyalties. The leaders and activists of the Peoples Party / Christian Democrats try to recover from the blow inflicted by the PSD after the two ‘free transfers’.

‘Council Of Government Meets To Award A Road Contract – The connection to Ribeiro da Alforra and Limoeiro will cost €9.4 million’. The weekly meeting yesterday just had one item on the agenda, the decision to award the building of a road in Câmara de Lobos. The road will be 2.5 kilometres in length, including a 225 meter tunnel. A spokesman said "it is a new link road which will very significantly improve the accessibility for the locations of Rancho, Ribeiro da Alforra and Limoeiro, in the parish of Câmara de Lobos, and establishing a new access road to the new Basic School in Rancho / Caldeira and the recently opened football stadium".

‘Basic sanitation highlighted as an example of failure of CMF’. Artur Andrade yesterday again accused the leadership of Miguel Albuquerque in Funchal Municipal Council (CMF) of a breach of election promises. After a tour of several parishes, the communist councillor in CMF concluded in Santo António, that basic sanitation is one of unfulfilled commitments. The communist cites the cases of Vasco do Gil, Cascalho and Preces.

In the same article, the main candidate for the MPT-M Earth Party, says he fears that the beaches that charge are putting families at risk. Concerned with those families that cannot afford to pay to enter, he warned of the consequences. He said that these poor families are forced to use the beaches that don’t charge, and don’t have lifeguards and safety equipment. He has called for CMF to intervene to allow cheaper access to the beaches in Funchal.

In a national story today : ‘Manuela Accused Of Making A List Of Pals – District leader says that the candidate list for Lisbon is composed by people "spent and tired". The district president of the PSD social democrats in Lisbon, accused his own party leader Manuela Ferreira Leite, of coming up with a "spent candidate list" to "pay favours" and "square accounts", in a national PSD Council meeting on Tuesday. "Instead of submitting a list for the voters of Lisbon, they decided to make a list for internal politics, to satisfy the tribe …" said Carlos Carreiras. "Whilst the district of Lisbon was making an effort to produce a list of credibility, nationally it was preferred to make some choices that seriously undermine the image of the party", he added. That will mean that you are not on that list then Carlos … welcome to politics, and be thankful you are not on Madeira where all such decisions are based on the likes and dislikes of just one man, forget the luxury of councils.

(3rd August). Today’s main news headline and photo today : ‘Thankless Weekend – The rally and the visit of the kings of Spain mobilize the police. Officers without time to eat and without even one word of gratitude. They were given no orders(?), and one officer finished up with a torn uniform after an altercation in Nogueira’. The picture shows an officer in deep discussion at a police barrier. ‘Police in the sun, thirsty and without lunch, agents work consecutive shifts to provide safety in the rally’. It was a tough weekend for officers, with both the royal visit and the Madeira Wine Rally to be covered. The Association of Police Professionals (ASPP) says that working conditions were, in some cases, inhumane and will discuss the situation with the lawyer who gives legal support to the ASPP. Officers working at the rally worked consecutive shifts, with just 40 minutes break in between, says Jorge Silva, and even worse they were working out in the sun, without shade, and without "even the right to have a bottle of water to kill the thirst and the heat". He criticises the organizers of the rally, for lack of concern for those ensuring the safety for the competition. "Our officers said that there was shade and water for those who were part of the rally organization, but no one thought about the police", and he continues "The organizers of the rally thanked everyone, but I never heard a word of thanks to our officers who were in service night and day during the week-end".

‘Quercus Says That The Wind Park Of Paul Should Stop As It Is – To many units would have negative effects on the environment’. The environmental agency Quercus says it recognises the benefits of ‘energy eólica’, but Paul da Serra "is at it’s limit", and it would prefer to see an offshore wind park, or perhaps a platform in the sea. The wind park at Paul da Serra is undergoing renovation, with new larger more powerful and productive units, and Quercus says that although the clean source of energy is welcome, it is at full capacity there. To continue expanding would have consequences for the environment, and the visual impact comes first as far as both Madeirans and tourists are concerned. The work of installing equipment is a problem, destroying the plants, and sometimes regrets Idalina Perestrelo, does not comply with the environmental impact studies. Although not specified in the initial projects, sometimes small roads are created to bring in materials, causing damage to plant life. Furthermore, when entering into operation, the fans disrupt the ecosystem and affect birds and bats. It is common to find dead bats near the towers. The national investment in renewable energy is seen as a priority, and the government of José Sócrates believes that renewable energy projects will create 23 thousand jobs in the next six years. The wish of Quercus to see platform wind farms out at sea would reduce environmental concerns, but would be far more expensive and time consuming to construct.

In football, in the weekends pre-season warm up matches : Académica de Coimbra 1 Nacional 2, and Rio Ave 0 Marítimo 0.

‘Carvalhal Doesn’t Abdicate On One More Striker – The manager of Marítimo already ponders on the ‘loss’ of Wanderly’. After the 0 – 0 draw on Saturday afternoon and other indifferent results, the manager of Marítimo admits errors were made, but they will not be repeated. If the Brazilian striker Wanderly does not stay with the club, he will be out to look for another.

‘Garbage Is Not The Result Of Sewerage Discharge – Plastic bags and waste cans are not passing through sewerage treatment’. The Regional Director of the Environment, João Correia, clarifies matters in response to a story published at the weekend in the Diário about the pollution on our beaches. The floating rubbish that appears around our coasts are not from sewers he says, as people do not flush metal cans and plastic bags in their toilets bowls. This rubbish comes from dumping or littering at sea, and from rivers or streams where people throw their rubbish. As for poor water quality, he says that the only bad case is at praia do Vigário, and that all the other beaches have satisfactory water quality, as confirmed by fortnightly tests, even at Madalena do Mar. The final clarification is into the removal of 4 Blue Flags, but he said that is only the case at Madalena do Mar, as the other 3 concessions opted never to use theirs from the start, so as "not to jeopardise future applications".

But the Diário decides not to let go … ‘Dirtiness Abounds On The Praia do Natal’. The beach at Ribeira do Natal in Caniçal, one of the biggest in Machico, is in high season without the minimum of conditions suitable for beach goers. Along the length of the beach there are uncountable glass and plastic bottles, paper rubbish, plastic bags, and bits of assorted metal. The promenade also is not properly maintained and cleaned, and it subject to the fall of stones. The president of of Machico council, Emanuel Gomes, said he was unaware of the situation are will get it all cleaned up quickly.

 ‘Are the preventive measures against fire the most effective? Fires near populated areas have put risk people and property at risk’. At the weekend, the area of Santa Cruz was literally hit by several outbreaks of fire. All of them originated in derelict land and close to residential areas. A fact that put at risk people and property. The Regional Director of Forestry says the phenomenon is due to the abandonment of lands that were once farmed, and which now are at the mercy of vegetation and are not being cleared. One problem that need solving. It can only get worse, as the old retire from farming, and the young move off to other things. I also picked up on the news that several times there was no water available to fight the fires, and I couldn’t resist showing the photo of this guy and his inadequate hosepipe tackling a raging inferno … perhaps that will be the enduring photo over there in Santa Cruz.

Four more fires reported over the weekend, but no more trouble from the big one(s) over in Santa Cruz. All were extinguished, one naturally by falling night rain in Machico.

‘Funchal has 29 closed arteries – Increasing the quality of life and benefiting the traders, says the council’. The 29 streets, closed to traffic, amount to around 4 kilometres dedicated to pedestrians, giving a significant improvement in the quality of life, says the vice-president at Funchal council. Bruno Pereira stressed that the measure when it began to be implemented in the Madeiran capital "was not consensual, as is any change involving the experience of citizens". "But now, in general, people agree that it is an advantage for the city, as it became environmentally cleaner, from the point of view of emissions, and become more secure, because there was a reduction in the number of road accidents and pedestrians run over" he added.