Madeira News Blog

This picture was taken at Lugar de Baixo marina yesterday evening. Despite earlier reports that the reopening was still a while away, it will in fact be open to the public again this afternoon.

(24th September). Today’s main news headline : ‘Câmara Of Santana Promotes [Staff] Continually -  On the eve of abandoning the presidency, Carlos Pereira gives spectacular improvements to workers’. After 20 years in Santana, the president of the council is on his way out, out of favour with the PSD-M leader and president of Madeira, Alberto João Jardim. One of the favours has now put a subordinate on a higher salary than Pereira himself. He has promoted 3 staff seemingly just to give them a higher salary. It’s legal, but raises some policy questions. In January, Carlos Pereira signed an order to allocate €79 thousand of the council budget of 2009, for "the purposes" of Contracts, Careers and Remuneration. Of this €53,500 was for movements within pay scales of 55 council employees, and €10,000 was for performance bonuses. Normally movements in pay scales work on a points system, but a council president has the power to override this. Legal or not, the deals are to be seen as an appreciation of the president at the end of his mandate, and a ‘hot potato’ left for his successor. 

‘Customs Strike Opens ‘Green Route’ In The Airport – Funchal Customs yesterday registered 100% participation in the strike. And there remain two days without control’. The three day strike started yesterday, leaving airport checks non existent in terms of customs activity. Two officers were on duty, in order to meet minimum service levels, but aside from that the strike achieved 100% participation. Airport baggage was going through unchecked, even that from ‘risk countries’. In the main offices in Funchal, just the boss, his assistant, two cleaners, and a telephonist were present.  

The main front page photo today shows a group of cops on the move : ‘Police From Here Complain To Lisbon – President of the ASPP in Lisbon say that they are already receiving denunciations from the police of Madeira about alleged attempts to pressure by regional political powers’. The police complain to their trade union in Lisbon, but there is no documentation to prove the allegations that political power is being used to apply pressure. Paulo Rodrigues, president of the TU, says Madeira is not the only case, as other police forces in Portugal suffer similar pressure and political interference in attempts to control the police. He stresses that security is not a regionalized responsibility, and that it is therefore an area controlled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI), without any intervention permitted from the Regional Government. He cites as a very recent example, the order of president Jardim to the police, to stop the opposition PND political party entering Curral das Freiras, because he was attending an event there. "It is for the police not to fall into the trap of giving in to pressure", and if they are victims of exploitation, the union recommends that they make a complaint. The National Election Commission (CNE), commenting on the same case said "only for strict safety reasons that were concerned with public protection, could a political party be prevented from campaigning in a public place". A "landslide" could justify the conduct of the PSP in this situation, which, according to the PND, the party was prevented from campaigning in the Nun’s Valley. "I do not think that [landslide] has been the case, since there was no report of the evacuation of the Nun’s Valley", he added. He said he had not yet received a formal complaint regarding this incident, but had so far received 17 complaints relating to the national elections to be held here on Sunday. He expects that number to triple on Sunday. As regards the local elections on 11th October, he said 114 complaints had been received, with the PS socialists heading the count as complainers.

‘School Bus Pass Scalds In The Country And In The University’. This has been already covered recently on this blog, and is about the disparity in costs of bus passes for students, which seem to depend on several factors: social standing (financially), distance travelled, and the need for crossing between different bus zones.

In football : ‘Shalke 04 Waves €5 Million At Rúben Micael – The exit of the Nacional player in December seems inevitable’. The German club has already made an offer for the star Madeiran, and he could be on his way in January. Bit of a tenuous link here though, as Shalke are being financed through sponsorship by Gazprom, the biggest company in Russia and biggest gas supplier in the world, who are also the major shareholder in Zenith St. Petersburg, the club that Nacional knocked out of the qualifying game for the Europa League. The boss at Shalke has already raided Nacional once. Micael has already had a whacking pay rise at Nacional to keep him happy, after a Spanish club offered him 14 times his salary at that time. Even so, a move in the new transfer window is inevitable, with a number of clubs interested. Perhaps this is a move in revenge for the Europa League result, at a price which is pocket money for Gazprom, and without Micael, Nacional’s chances in Europe look even limper than they already are.

Madeira University has 47 student vacancies, 36 which were caused by students who were accepted for places but who didn’t register.

‘Caniço Is Going To Have A Garden And Sports Facility’. The problem of the lack of green areas and leisure in Caniço will soon be alleviated. The council of Santa Cruz has already secured the necessary investment to enable the construction of a city park, in the heart of the area. A considerable work, considered a priority by the current council president, and a ‘flagship’ in the campaign of the PSD social democrats in the area. The park will incorporate various courts for ball games, a multipurpose court, a children’s park, parking for 200 vehicles, a small cycle path, a mini golf ‘space’, and a green area. The money for the work, €1.5 to €2 million, will be ‘publically’ released next week, but the exact location of the park is still a closely guarded secret. The population of the area has escalated from 12 thousand to around 28 thousand, in just 8 years, and as one Diário reader, Dimitrios, says in the comments : "After having transformed Caniço into one of the most horrible places in Portugal in terms of disorganised construction, only now they remembered to make a garden". I don’t think they even ‘remembered’ Dimitrios’, as it can be no coincidence that the câmara and local elections are just over two weeks away. Still if the money has already been secured, maybe that will not now be the election winner that the PSD in Santa Cruz are hoping, and any party can now jump on the same ‘city park’ bandwagon.

Gripe A swine flu has taken the first life in Portugal. The 41 year old man was actually an emigrant in France, on holiday in Portugal, but he died yesterday in a Porto hospital.

‘Service For Workplace Conflicts Already Received 12 Cases – The new body is a faster alternative for both trade unions and employers’. The Regional Service for Voluntary Resolution of Workplace Conflicts, was officially inaugurated yesterday, but even up until then had received 12 applications, 8 of which have been dealt with. The objective of the body is to resolve workplace problems without legal recourse. The service, which seems to be based on arbitration and compromise, can also refer cases to the courts if they remain unresolved, and can issue certificates of exemption for the court costs.

Some leftovers from yesterday, which was a huge newspaper :

(23rd September). The last of yesterday’s headlines : ‘Induction For The Rookies Starts Parties And Gatherings’. The ‘newcomers’ are already in the initiation routines, and between games and war cries the new students integrate themselves in the usual manner’. "The initiation has been quite good fun, and is not bad as many people think, we have our rights and duties", says one new students about the initiation of new students in the University of Madeira. The initiation period lasts a month, and aside from the fun element, is supposed to welcome the newcomers and make them feel comfortable in UMa with their new colleagues. on 14th October there is then a ‘baptism’ ceremony.

‘Government Order To Regulate Determination Of Career Progression – Teacher’s Union accuses the Madeira government of frustrating the expectations of teachers’. President Jardim had promised changes in the rules for teacher career progression, following the national changes that based progression on teacher evaluations (where Jardim bypassed the national scheme, by automatically giving all of Madeira’s teachers a blanket rating of ‘good’). Jardim criticised the national scheme, and said Madeira would be different, promising career progression. In effect what Jardim did froze the salaries of the teachers, leaving them untouched now since 2005. 

‘Foreign Doctors To Fill Gaps – The health service is considering hiring a Polish anaesthetist’. While there is still a shortage of doctors in some specialties, the Regional Health Service SESARAM may resort to foreign professionals. Miguel Ferreira, clinical director of SESARAM, has already announced the appointment of a doctor from Venezuela. The possibility of using more foreign professionals to fill gaps is a situation to consider in individual cases. "We can not hire 15 or 20 foreign doctors because we have to think of those internally who are currently doing the specialty", he added. Odd to hear that Madeira is actively seeking foreigners, well nearly. Must mean that all the political cronies already have their offspring employed in the top jobs, or is it that the hospital chief thinks that a spotty orange-tinted brain surgeon is just a step too far.

‘Image of Our Lady of Fátima in Madeira’. On the 12th October the Diocese of Funchal will receive the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fátima, where it will stay until the 18th, before going around to some of the other major towns, on a tour that will run through until May. Fátima is the home of the shrine called the Basilica, built to commemorate the events of 1917 when three peasant children claimed to have seen the "Virgin of the Rosary", Our Lady of Fátima. It was and still is a very important religious event in Portugal. Unfortunately the original photograph of the statue that I saw has now disappeared, but I managed to find another one to satisfy ones curiosity.

‘Number Of Cases Of AIDS Grows On Madeira’. The president of the association ‘Abraço’ announced the fact without giving any definite numbers. The charitable organization that supports AIDS / SIDA sufferers is trying to raise €500,000 to open a new support facility through a national campaign to collect and sell waste copper. The building has been made available in Rua da Carreira by the regional government, but a lack of funds has prevented the reconstruction and adaptation for 3 years now. Electrical cables and wires, telephone chargers, and computer parts containing copper can be donated through Dolce Vita shopping malls and Post Offices.

UPDATES :

‘Magalhães Not Finished’. The project to provide mini laptop computers to school children throughout Portugal is to continue. The announcement by the Minister for Education said the decision has been made, regardless of the election results on Sunday. Over 400,000 children already have the computers, which as well as serving as a teaching / learning aid, gives wireless internet access, and also allows the possibility of remote teaching in case a school is temporarily closed, or a child cannot get to school.

‘Construction restricted by falling demand – The engineering works are the only ones to record a positive change’. A spokesman for the national Federation of Construction said that housing construction in Portugal had fallen 25.3% in comparative quarters in a year. Unemployment from the construction industry was up 77.3% between July 2008 and July 2009.

A Cooperative in Portugal will next week launch internet shopping. Customers will be able to order their groceries on-line and have them delivered to their homes, with a minimum order value of €25 . The website is here, but it is not functioning yet : www.coopbeja.com I will be looking again on Tuesday, to see if they deliver to Madeira, but somehow I think not. Anyway, it’s a good sign (perhaps) of things to come.

‘Portuguese Economy Should Contract 4% – The estimates of Standard & Poor are not very cheering for the national economy’. The ‘rating’ agency also said the economy would contract 1.2% in 2010, owing to the continuing effects of the financial crisis and weaknesses at home. The report stresses that external competiveness is particularly weak, that levels of investment are stagnant, and that the private sector is highly geared. Well I need a new TV, so that might help a bit, and the freezer broke last down month too, but that will have to wait until I can pluck up the courage to look inside. Anyway, I wouldn’t take much notice of anything produced by a company called ‘Standard & Poor’, as if it was any good at what it was doing it wouldn’t be ‘standard’ or even worse ‘poor’, now would it? I am think of starting a new venture next week, along the same lines, writing reports about country’s economies and finances, the name I have in mind is ‘Jolly Decent Yet Far From Rich’, and I reckon I can have S & P out of business in a month. Anyway, I just rolled the dice, and I predict the Portuguese economy will grow 18% next year (6 + 6 = 12, then a free roll for a double, 1 + 3). If you need a forecast for your favourite economy, drop me a line and you can have a special blog readers discount. I can only do positive forecasts mind, as I don’t have any dice with negative spots, so Americans, Brits and Spaniards, you are unfortunately beyond help.

No politics today, as I just can’t take any more!!!!!

(25th June). Not much doing on today’s front page, so just a brief summary, but some better stuff inside I think, so some here and some later.

Today’s main news headline, in three parts : (1) ‘Fairs Agitate East – Machico Council ordered the closure of the fair of the Commercial & Industrial Association. In the opinion of the câmara president it lacked quality. The association and the trades are in commotion, but the counsellor insists the "We have this in Santo da Serra"’. The matter has divided politicians, businessmen, and the social democrats in the area. The fair was supposed to continue until September, but the council president disconnected the electricity supply and took all the stands off the promenade, saying that the event lacked quality and dynamics, and likened the event to the Sunday market in Santo da Serra.

(2) ‘In neighbouring Santa Cruz, the traders are also upset because the council refuses to give space for the traders stands or caravans in the festivals of the region’. Ten traders were asked to leave by the council, that ruled there is insufficient space. The traders claim they have been discriminated against in times of crisis, and complain they were not notified that their trading permits had been refused. As a result their income is going to be badly effected.

(3) ‘A different situation in Funchal, where vandalism with fire makes life hell for the firemen on the night of the festival of São João’. Fires on wasteland, smouldering wood and other materials, kept the firemen busy at night in Funchal. The first call was an overbuilt barbeque fire in Nazaré, the second a wasteland fire where around 60 square metres were consumed, then a pile of wood from pallets on a public highway. The fifth and final fire was in a waste container in Santo António.

‘Almada Leaves The Meeting And Leaves The Doctors Without An Answer- The trade union asks doctors not to work overtime beyond the weekly limit’. The council of administration of the regional health service (SESARAM) met with doctors yesterday to clarify working hours and matters of overtime. It seems the discontent of the doctors heated the meeting, resulting in the administrator Almada Cardoso leaving the meeting without dealing with the issues at cause, with the doctors booing his attitude, rekindling the hostility between the two sides. He said he left because he had other commitments. Anyway, the dispute caused by changes in working schedules, working hours, and the underlying issue of budget cuts, has now resulted in doctors being asked to ‘work-to-rule’.

‘Works Of Rigo In France, the United States, and China’. Starting on 15th July in the museum of New York’. The Madeira born artist Rigo is to display his art in the places mentioned. He has lived in San Francisco for decades, and his art medium is plastic.

The front page also covers the confederations football cup, expressing surprise that the USA beat Spain to get to the final on Sunday, and will meet either Brazil or South Africa (both teams being of interest here on Madeira).

‘Police Detain 29 Individuals In An Extraordinary Operation – The regional command initiates 22 operations in the space of 24 hours’. The Public Security Police (PSP) also identified 32 other people, in a series of operations involving arrest warrants for drug trafficking, drink driving, and other offences, and in the process found a small amount of heroin. The ‘swoop’ took place on 19th June as part of a national strategy. The operation included vehicle checks, and of 388 drivers tested for alcohol, 45 were found with excess of 0.5g per litre of blood. 12 vehicles were also seized. 147 police offers were involved in the operation that focused on sensitive zones, around schools, public transport interfaces, and night time hot spots.

(20th June). Today’s main news headline ‘Electricity Doubles Production – EEM will spend €55 million to buy three groups of electrical-thingies that also guarantee less pollution’. The three things will be top of the range, and the ambitious investment plan upgrades the existing technology to ensure greater efficiency, and above all less pollution. The Electricity Company of Madeira (EEM) are banking on the new units to deliver around 300GWh to the island every year. They will have their own building in Socorridos called Nave III. The justification for the expenditure has been increasing demand, but also the need to maintain standards of safety and reliability. The existing equipment has had over 120,000 hours of operation, and at 30 years old is nearing the end of its useful life. I couldn’t translate the word ELECTROGÉNEOS but I was guessing that we are talking about some type of generator, but why would a generator on it’s own make less pollution, so it must be units that include motors and generators, and indeed steam turbines are mentioned. The units run on either oil or natural gas, and I naively thought that we were were trying to move more to renewable sources, which we have in abundance in the form of water, wind, and waves.

‘Social Housing With €9 Million In Overdue Debts – There are 803 debtors, beside the 358 tenants that are paying through liquidation arrangements. Others ask for rent reductions’. A recycled news story from a couple of months ago. There are 100 cases pending through the courts against tenants in arrears. The debts have been accumulating since 1978 when the government of Madeira developed new social policies, through what is a type of housing association (IHM). The value of €9 million includes arrears, interest and fines. An additional problem is that many families are totally unstructured, and don’t produce the necessary documents to enable the correct calculations and distribution of the rent due, often resulting in higher payments than should be necessary. Those who don’t pay are limited to action allowed by law, and that normally means that there are no reprisals other than to take steps to recover debts through the courts. IHM are also facing many more requests for rent reviews, where people are earning less or someone has lost their job, a situation which can take the rent down to as low as €20 a month (5% of the minimum wage).

‘Sacked Doctor That Refuses To Be Sacked – Different explanations for the exit of Henriqueta Reynolds the director of the anestesia service’. She was effectively fired yesterday by her boss and says she was "invited by the clinical director to resign" because he felt she was not achieving the goals he felt were important, but having a clear conscience on the work she has been doing, she decided not to go. Her boss said she did agree, and that her replacement had already been agreed during the conversation.

‘Francisco Jardim Ramos Available For Dialogue With Doctors And Nurses – Regional Secretary for Social Affairs tries to minimize complaints about the health service management stating that any change always causes dissatisfaction’. He met with the leader of the trade union that represents doctors yesterday, and told him that many of the changes taking place were national issues, and were not the doing of the Madeira management. He denied that there is widespread discontent amongst doctors and nurses, and said that the changes being made were to improve the service being given "taking into account the costs that it incurs with the provision of health care". Very delicately put Sir, and it’s true that changes always cause dissatisfaction, especially cost cutting changes.

Francisco Jardim Ramos also commented on the mosquito problem, and admits that the recent weather changes will provide well for the development of the mosquito ‘Aedes aegypti’, especially with the recent rains. The regional secretary for social affairs has prepared a program to prevent and combat the pest that will cost €400 thousand Euros.

‘Alexandre To The Champion In Santa Cruz – Spectacular victory with many spectators in the superspecial’. Alexandre Camacho won the first stage yesterday that marked the start of the XXVII Rally of the City of Santa Cruz. He completed the 1.98km course in 1 minute and 34.5 seconds, 1.1 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. The rally continues today, with the completion of eight special tests on a new track  that is worrying drivers and spectators because of the high population density in some parts.

‘Sound System Makes Racket In Ribeira Brava – The council agrees to a grant for the church, but the PS counsellor Rui Caetano, claims there are higher priorities’. There seem to be two stories intertwined here, but the PS counsellor Rui Caetano is furious that Ribeira Brava council supports giving a grant to the church at Campanário, that is currently undergoing a costly work of restoration and reconstruction. The new financial support is for a sound system costing €27,000. Socialist Rui says it is a scandal that the priest in Campanário is more concerned with a public address system than with the effects of the crisis that affects many families in his parish. "People are starving" and can’t even manage to pay for medicine he said. The response of the social democrat president of Ribeira Brava council admits the existence of higher priority needs, but justifies the expenditure as of "spiritual significance". That is so weird that last statement, I went back and double checked the translation elsewhere just to be sure. The issue of support for non-essential organisations here is something I have trouble comprehending, for example the huge amounts of money and other support given to Ribeira Brava football club. Surely expenditure of council funds has to either benefit the population of the area as a whole, or go to help the most needy, well before organisations such as sports clubs and the church get a handout (although I do recognise that funding sports clubs does have other beneficial spin-offs for the population as a whole).

(19th June). ‘Race For The Barracas For São Pedro – Sellers invest thousands of Euros for three days of guaranteed business’. Despite the crisis and the competition, more and more sellers are after the 100 or so spaces to erect their barracas (street stands) for the 3 day event. The base price for a prominent bbq space is €100, but bids in Monday’s auction for ‘food and drink’ stands went as high as €800 for top spots on the beach. Street sellers with the usual souvenirs, sweets, and plastic stuff from Korea etc. have to pay €4.71 per square metre per day to the council.