Madeira News Blog

(28th August). Today’s main news story and photo, with about two thirds of the front page : ‘In The Elite Of Europe – With a deceive draw yesterday in St. Petersburg (1-1), Nacional eliminated the millionaires of Zenit and move on now to the must sought after group phase. A historic deed that launches the Madeiran club into another galaxy of European football. The draw of the league is today’. ‘Here are the new ‘Czars’ of Madeira’. In football, Nacional went to play the second leg of the Europa League qualifying match in Moscow yesterday evening, and thanks to a very very late equaliser by Ruben Micael (the only Madeiran in the game), go forward to the next group stage at the expense of Zenit St. Petersburg, who were huge favourites for the win. I thought I was enthusiastic at the fantastic result, but I didn’t even consider using words ‘elite’ and ‘galaxy’. Once again it was and still is impossible to see even the slightest snippet of the game due to TV rights, but we had nearly full coverage on the radio. The draw for the group phase is at 12.30 am today I think, and Nacional are in there with Benfica and Sporting. Not much room left on the front page for anything else.

UPDATE : You won’t see it on TV, but after extensive research the last minute Nacional goal (and the OTT celebrations) is available to blog readers HERE along with a match report in English. In the draw for the group phase made this afternoon, Nacional will play in Group L with Werder Bremen (Germany), Austria de Vienna, and Atletico de Bilbau (Spain). The first games will be on 17th September.

‘CMF ‘Occupies’ Old Buildings’. Funchal Municipal Council is to take administrative possession of 4 old run-down buildings, to use for social housing. The buildings are in an advanced state of degradation in the old city. CMF will take possession of the buildings, which are protected in legal terms, for turning them into housing. There are at least four of these buildings, whose expropriation process determines a substantial investment, not only to pay the owners, but also to pay for the restoration work. One house in Rua de Santa Maria will cost €53,000 to buy, and another €102,000 to restore. There are many such houses in the area, and the process of expropriation (compulsory purchase) is there to allow CMF to take on the restoration, to keep Funchal looking in good shape, when the owners fail to do so with their property. The process has four stages, and is usually made more difficult because owners cannot be identified or traced, often as a result of complex inheritance issues, as often happens here.

‘(Social) Security Investigates Fraud – The scheme involves false claims for unemployment benefit. Bernadette Vieira alerts citizens to the serious consequences of illegal claims’. An allegedly fraudulent scheme involving false unemployment claims, may be undermining the social security system, and costing many thousands of Euros. The case is now being investigated by the inspection branch of Social Security Madeira (CSSM), following a whistle blower complaint, and as required by law, they immediately suspended unemployment benefits awarded to people under suspicion. In practice, they suspect the existence of companies that, in return for a monetary consideration, have sent false statements to the CSSM in support of claims for unemployment benefits, for workers who in fact never worked there. Research by the Diário revealed that this scheme is suspected of taking place in the north of Madeira, involving an unspecified number of people. In the parish of Boaventura, the number of individuals suspected of improperly receiving the unemployment benefit is around 10. If the bogus claims are confirmed the matter will be turned over to the Justice Police. Bernadette Vieira, president of CSSM, alerts citizens to the seriousness of a situation like this, as well as for the obvious consequences for those involved. The first of which, is the immediate suspension of unemployment benefit. In addition, offenders are obliged to refund the entire amount obtained unlawfully. This, warns the president of CSSM, in the absence of an immediate repayment, will lead to the suspension of all subsidies and other social benefits, that will continue until the amount owed is paid off in full. To further aggravate the situation, the culprits are also subject to a fine of up to one thousand Euros. For companies involved in fraudulent situations like this, the amount of fines can go up to €2,500. In addition to all this, there are criminal consequences for some. In addition, she appeals to the public who are aware of schemes like these, to report the matter. Sounds almost like it is a new phenomenon, but surely it can’t be. A certain small percentage of human beings will always try to rip-off the system, that’s an unfortunate fact of life, but here it’s almost a national sport as far as the financial authorities go, with so many people working and claiming benefits, and working and not paying tax, or businesses earning and siphoning. Normally it doesn’t it seem to bother anyone, let alone the IRS and Social Security, and it almost seems to be socially acceptable. The fines hardly seem much of a deterrent either. I wonder if there is anything we could learn from our politicians about how to behave in this sense?

‘Weekend With The Famous – Dates 4th And 5th – The event ‘Faces’ Divine Experience’ ends with a VIP party at The Vine Hotel’. Fun, elegance and dozens of familiar faces from the world of television. This is what promises to end the weekend special summer that the famous celebrity magazine ‘Faces’ will present in Madeira, on the 4th and 5th of September. The actress and TV presenter, Liliana Aguiar, and Sofia Marques, are named guests, but the final list of celebrities is still being prepared and in the coming days there should be more news. The Vine will be an unforgettable party. For these two days, specifically Friday, after a ‘welcome drink’ at The Vine Hotel (in the hotel’s official event ‘Faces Divine Experience’), there follows a visit to the ‘Madeira Wine Festival 2009′ which will take place at Avenida Arriaga, then the night will finish with a dinner at’ Chega de Saudade’, one of the most popular restaurants in downtown Funchal. On Saturday, there is a boat trip planned along the coast to the Marina Quinta do Lorde, in Caniçal, followed by lunch there. At night, there will be a dinner at the restaurant at The Vine, followed by a media VIP party for about 400 invited guests. Having never heard of the magazine ‘Faces’, or the only two guests named so far, I thought I ought to do some Google research and it seems that ‘Faces’ Magazine is a free magazine about the nightlife, restaurants, fashion, stores, and people of Halifax in England.

‘Law of compulsory education until the age of 18 published yesterday – Students in the next school year to stay until the seventh grade are already covered(?)’. The law which extends compulsory education to the age of 18, and establishes pre-school education from the age of 5, was published in the Diário da República (official Journal). Law No 85/2009 states that "compulsory education implies, for the guardian of the child, the duty to make the registration of the child in public or private schools, in institutions of education, and / or training recognized by authorities, determining for the student the duty of attendance".

‘SATA repudiates the strike of Groundforce – Company accepts no responsibility for the inconvenience that passengers will suffer’. If the TAP strike today and tomorrow isn’t bad enough, the handling company at several airports, Groundforce, has also chosen the same days to strike. This will affect passengers using the airports of Madeira, Porto Santo, Lisbon and Porto. The strike will cause congestion with luggage movements, and problems in check in, embarking and disembarking. Passengers are advised to travel with cabin luggage only, and also to check in by telephone where possible. The SATA customer contact centre number is 707 22 72 82, or information can be obtained on-line.

‘Rockfall Along The Seafront Of Ribeira Brava – Boulders fell on the section prohibited for use’. The old sea road, closed to traffic for several years, that leads to the roundabout at Tabua, suffered another rock fall yesterday. No one was hurt, but the damage was evident both to the pavement and in the outer sea wall which runs alongside the road. The route is correctly identified with warning signs, and also signs prohibiting pedestrian and bicycle traffic, but many ignore them.

In yesterday’s Jornal da Madeira : ‘New measure against social exclusion released – The program was published this week in the Journal of the Region’. The Government has just launched a measure to combat social exclusion. This is the Local Contract Program for Social Development, published this week in the Journal of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (JORAM) whose purpose, is to ‘bridge the current needs of society in the face of persistent poverty and social exclusion’. According to the regional secretary for social affairs, it is a set of opportunities that are created locally for the social development of people who are in situations of social downfall, to give an opportunity that these people can take part in’. He said ‘this is a project of great social importance’, as it will offer them "an opportunity for integration". It involves the the creation of units that develop, train and thus provide new job opportunities for those people in need of support. It will be targeted at critical areas, urban or rural, hard hit with problems. A bit tricky to dig out the exact details, but will this be the PSD ‘election special’, designed to attract those voters suffering the worst hardship, that until now thought the government of Madeira had done little to help them?

UPDATES

‘Study Records Weak Presence Of Mosquitoes – The study was done in July by technicians of hygiene and tropical medicine’. The preliminary study says that there is no great abundance of insects, not in adult or larvae form. That is confirmed by a reduction in people attending the health centres in Funchal and Câmara de Lobos, complaining of bites by the ‘Aedes Aegypti’ mosquito. The news has surprised the experts, with the explanation being given as partly due to the use of a new ‘cutting edge’ insecticide, instead of that recommended by the World health Organisation. A colder Winter may also have helped. Another reason given for the reduction in complaints at health centres, is that people are becoming less sensitive to the bites of this species over time. However people are urged to continue the action they have been taking, particularly avoiding leaving stagnant water around, which provides breeding conditions. The worst months are yet to come, with the heat, humidity and rain of September and October, providing the best conditions for the mosquitoes.

’200 Cases Per Year In The PSP Of Madeira’. The police are the target of complaints relating to misconduct, breaches of discipline, or practices that could be considered illegal. The trade union representing police says that there is protectionism in play for more senior officers, whilst the rank and file police are subject to a quicker and more severe sanctions. The TU officer gives the example of damage to vehicles, with some officers fined and suffering a reduction in salary, whilst more senior officers were not even subject to the same process. The Regional Command of the PSP makes it clear that the process, does not discriminate between rank or function. "The disciplinary regulations of the PSP are applicable to all police officers" he said. The majority of disciplinary proceedings, which are led by an officer of higher rank to the person charged, end up being closed due to lack of evidence.

A 24 year old man has died from his injuries after a car crash in Calheta on 16th August. He had been in a coma since the accident between Prazeres and Maloeira. A 19 year old man in the same accident is still in hospital waiting surgery, but is out of danger. The funeral is tomorrow at 4pm in the church of Raposeira.

‘TAP Guarantees Flights On Day Of Strike – Resort to the company ‘Portway’ is the solution found to not leave passengers on land’. Passengers are catching their flights as normal at Madeira Airport today, despite the strikes by staff represented by 5 different trade unions at TAP airlines. So far no cancellations or delays. A TAP spokesman said that (today?) there will be just isolated small delays. TAP has contracted the handling services of Portway to minimise problems, a move that one trade union leader has said is illegal. TAP assures that the move is within the law.

"Black Stains" Appear Like Mushrooms Leaving Funchal Disfigured – CDU criticises urban growth in the city’. The election candidate of the communists for the câmara municipal of Funchal criticised the various developments that have left the city "violated and disfigured". In a pre-campaign initiative prior to the elections on 11th October, Artur Andrade said that the city had been "marked by interest groups and by speculation in real estate", and that the municipal master plan (PDM) has proved "insufficient to deal with the speculative interests and was twisted and violated". The result of the total permissiveness over the years is for the gain of "a minority whose aim is simply to make as much profit as possible". The examples chosen to illustrate the accusations are Marina Shopping, the expansion of the Hotel CS Madeira, the embargoed building of Mina Gerais, and even the cement wall at the port of Funchal for the construction of a car park. What about the complete development in and around Ajuda? If that wasn’t done for a quick buck and with total disregard for sensible planning, I will eat someone’s hat.

‘Autonomous Regions Forgotten In The Programme Of PSD – Ferreira Leite doesn’t take on any questions involving controversy’. Alberto João Jardim said during the week, that the PS electoral programme presented by prime minister José Sócrates was worth "zero", in respect of Madeira and the Azores. An evaluation (according to the Diário) that he should now extend to the programme (prospectus?) of his own PSD party, presented yesterday by party leader Manuela Ferreira Leite, who said the party did not exaggerate its promises. The autonomous regions had a quarter page and some general references, with none of the issues considered fundamental by the social democrats of Madeira addressed with a clear commitment, including the constitution revision considered as a top priority by president Jardim. It does however promise to patch up the terrible relationship between central government and the regional government of Madeira, if elected. It also promises to ensure ‘healthy market competition’, which will conflict with the government stance here in terms of the newspaper Jornal da Madeira.

(26th May). The main picture in the day’s newspaper is a pretty awful looking mish-mash of election posters showing some pretty ugly mugshots : ‘Campaign Pulls Out With Many Posters and Little Grape’ (I am sorry I cannot explain that).  The electoral campaign for European elections officially began on Monday across Portugal, and in most other European Union countries. As in all elections, Funchal and the main population centres seemed to be more ‘colourful’. But despite the commitment of all candidates in the mobilization of voters, the indifference of the electorate continues to dominate the days preceding an election in which failure has always been the big winner. This year the situation seems to be no different. The voters know the importance of these elections, but the majority still show no interest. Even so, the candidates and parties intend to give everything until the 7th June. It’s driving me nuts already, although there are very few posters up in town, there are frequent party political broadcasts on the radio, and although not so many on TV, they are interfering with my normal viewing.

‘The Bet Is On Public Works In Place Of Culture And Sport’. Madeira’s government is to reduce spending on sport and culture in order to move ahead with building projects next month. "We have to make cuts because revenues have declined. Therefore, these cuts have been made in areas that have no immediate effect on employment", said president Jardim on Monday afternoon.

(25th May). Fuel prices are expected to start a new upward trend over the coming months, with petrol leading the way. After a short lull, the short term international situation will force up petrol prices even more, whilst diesel ought to remain more stable. The Diário says "The increases recorded in recent weeks, are just the beginning of a cycle of increased oil prices, that should accompany the recovery of the world economy".

‘Madeira Has The Third Highest Unemployment Benefit Payments’. With an average of €515.69 per month, only Lisbon (€606) and Setúbal (€555) pay more to the unemployed. That is based on April’s payments, where those eligible from the 11,844 registered unemployed on Madeira, had a ‘take home pay’ of €56 over the legal minimum salary (€459 / month). 

(22nd May). ‘Rain Affects Sewers – Funchal again feels the effects of the bad weather. Rain water and sewerage mixed causing an unbearable smell. In the west, the high zones of Ribeira Brava were the worst affected’.  Many residents had already been warned that there was a danger of the rain bringing conditions last seen in 2005, when floods caused havoc. In Boa Morte, high above Ribeira Brava, the unceasing rain that fell yesterday morning pushed large quantities of earth and stones into the business park and onto the road that runs nearby, and some was washed downwards, entering some homes. In the worst case, one resident in the area had an influx of mud and stones into his basement, kitchen, living room and other parts of the property, as had happened before in 2005.

The airport was also affected with the bad weather, with one flight cancelled, and eight diverted to Porto Santo and The canary Islands, as well as various problems with departures. The real problems started at around 8.30am, and lasted for around 3 hours. the Easyjet flight to Lisbon was cancelled, and a Porto Santo plane had to return there, unable to land.

I saw the rain was heavy where I am, but I had no idea it was so bad elsewhere, with loads of news stories today about the damage caused and the problems for those trying to have a normal day at home or work, and even a rescue at sea. The south coast turned brown with mud washed into the sea according to one story, and here is the proof :

The Avenida Arriaga (north track) in Funchal will be closed during the holidays in June, which will allow work to be done to stop future problems with sewerage pipes when there is heavy rain. That should stop the rather unpleasant smell that occurs at these times, although it seems that this is project is not a permanent solution.

(22nd May). The Council of Government yesterday approved a new scheme to support lending for housing for the unemployed, one of the promised measures to combat the crisis and rising unemployment. The proposed legislative decree for Madeira will be delivered to the Legislative Assembly of Madeira for discussion and approval, complementing another measure to support property rental for the unemployed, in force since April 15th. An explanatory note from the government explains that this is a measure of "exceptional support of a transitional nature" introduced to support "Madeira families affected by the consequences of the current international and national economic crisis, as has been done for those who live in rented accommodation". The rules are clear, it is only available to those who worked for companies and lost their job involuntarily, and who then sign-on at the Employment Office of Madeira and are eligible to receive unemployment benefits. If one person from a couple is unemployed and the other working, €175 a month in assistance will be paid. If both of the couple are unemployed and meet the criteria, then €350 a month will be paid. It is predicted that the new measure will cover around 1,000 families in the first year, and will cost the taxpayer €2 million.

(22nd May). The 6th animal sterilisation campaign on Porto Santo Island resulted in 191 animals being ‘done’. VetFunchal, in collaboration with a German organisation, ran the free-of-charge campaign for 5 days, with 88 bitches and 103 cats getting ‘snipped’. They were also micro chipped, photographed, and recorded on a computer database. Since 1999, the year marking the beginning of these campaigns, 724 sterilizations were performed free of charge on Porto Santo, of which 351 involved bitches, and the remaining 373 were cats.