Madeira News Blog

(14th September). Today’s main news headline : ‘Oncology Without Means Causes Desperation – The hospital promises rectification but admits to not having conditions nor doctors to attend to the dozens of patients that pass each day in the service Haemato-Oncology(?), where there are tac and ultrasound scans waiting to be dealt with’. The service is working at its limit, and just doesn’t have the medical means and conditions to serve the hundreds of patients who attend the service of Hemato-Oncology (I am having trouble with medical terms here, hence the different spelling!). Maria’s life took a turn when her husband became ill and doctors discovered that he had cancer in his tongue. The last months have been a struggle with consultations, treatments, tests and long waits in the Emergencies Department, in the services of Hemato-Oncology and Radiotherapy Centre. Funchal Central Hospital has two oncologists, and they cannot meet the demand for tacs and other scans. Patients, such as Maria’s husband, are being referred to the private sector, and having to pay. Maria explains that it is not just the illness that burdens, it is more than that. She says with tears dancing in her eyes, that if it wasn’t for the understanding at her work, she would be unemployed by now. Her husband cannot take public transport to the hospital from their home in Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, and so she needs to pay €30 for a taxi, a lot of money on a domestic helpers salary, and money is already tight. Two scans needed cost her another €85, and the long periods of waiting mean taking a lot of time off work. Maria’s story is similar to many family members of patients who receive a cancer diagnosis, and they have to learn to cope with the disease and with a system lacking conditions, doctors and resources to act adequately. Even the clinical director of the Department of Health for Madeira acknowledges that it is true, but reminds that improvements are planned for the service of Hemato-Oncology, with work starting in October with an expansion of the laboratory test area. More consulting and treatment areas, with better conditions, are also planned, but the director says it is dependant on bureaucratic procedures. Even with new scanning equipment being planned, the unit will not be able to cope with all the requirements, and people will continue to be referred to private practices. FOOTNOTE : If referred by the health service to a private practice, under the green requisition system, the price paid is significantly reduced from that normally charged.

‘Beach-Goers Block Cemetery – Confusion at the cemetery entrance, that is located near to the beach meaning parking spaces are much in demand’. This is just across the valley from me, and quite why it is on the front page I don’t know. Anyway, despite there being a car park right next to the beach, people don’t want to pay, so the road outside the cemetery, that overlooks the beach, gets congested and cemetery access is a problem. It is particularly a problem when there is a funeral, and the necessary vehicles cannot get access. The council say it is a matter for the police to deal with, but calls for "a little civility" to ensure there is access and that those who need to visit the cemetery can park there. According to a local priest, "it is a fact that there really is a lack of civility, but also it is a reality we are experiencing, in that people need to save a few cêntimos, so it is natural to look for spaces where one doesn’t need to pay". The police say they are aware of the situation, and that numerous cars have already been fined, and will continue to ensure the area is policed. It is an offence to to deny access to properties, buildings, and garages, and any cases noticed should be promptly reported to the police.

Another ‘headline’, is the announcement that that applications are open today for the Diário’s annual event, the ’100 Biggest & Best Companies’. Moving on …

The main front page picture today is from yesterday’s football match : ‘First Defeat Marked With Mistakes – Marítimo lost to the championship leader (Braga). Carlos Carvalhal (Manager), that has only won 2 games out of the 16 since training the verde-rubros, blames the referee. What lacks is an excuse for the apathy in attack’.

‘Champion Sand Sculptor’. Brandon Allen is from Porto Santo, is 14 years old, and is the latest national champion of sand sculptures. The competition, an initiative of the Diário de Notícias in Lisbon, had the final on the white sand beach in Lourinha in Portugal, with the winners from 29 beaches nationwide competing for the prestigious title. Brandon won with his feminine sculpture shown, and is the first ever winner from Porto Santo. On winning, "It was indescribable, I was thrilled and very happy. There are no words to describe what I felt", said Brandon.

The parish (freguesia) of Camacha has a new website : www.freguesiadacamacha.pt

‘Competition To Inaugurate Cycle Path’. The cycle path at Estrada Monumental will be inaugurated on Friday by Funchal council, and a competition is being held to mark the occasion for ‘non polluting’ (home made) vehicles, such as go karts. Judging is to be at 7 pm. A number of events have also been organised for Saturday and beyond, to mark the European Week For Mobility. It ends on the 22nd September with the opening of the ‘Green Line’ (Linha Verde), when the five buses that work the route between Funchal and Praia Formosa will be replaced with the new environmentally friendly models, which should also relieve traffic congestion on the route.

UPDATES FROM THE POLITICAL NEWS :

The last of today’s headlines : ‘Debate Puts 12 Talking Together For An Hour – The proposal of RTP-M doesn’t please the candidacies where national and local elections are mixed’. The debate on the Madeira TV channel is scheduled for the 23rd September, but those expected to take part are not happy with the proposed format, which will involve 12 representatives from the different political parties to sit and debate in one single session lasting a little over an hour. Bernardo Trindade, the head of the socialist list said: "The PS will be present, out of respect for Madeira and Porto Santo, but we are well aware that this debate will serve for nothing, since it is impossible to discuss seriously the problems affecting Madeira and in Porto Santo (in such a forum)". It would certainly be a spectacle of unpleasantness and disorder that I would watch, but as for a decisive guide for the discerning voter, I think not. I feel however that I have a duty to say that there is no truth in the rumour that President Jardim’s social democrats are happy with the 12 person format, on the condition that exactly 11 of them are PSD representatives, in line with the democratic principles of the party on Madeira. 

‘Santa Cruz inaugurates 12 works up to the elections – In less than a month 23% of the works promised will be inaugurated’. The electoral program with which the current PSD president of Santa Cruz, José Alberto Gonçalves, was elected four years ago, promised 51 public works in the 5 districts of the region. 12 of these are due to be inaugurated, or opened, before the local elections on 11th October. Opposition parties accuse the council of trying to mislead the voters and cover up the failures of the current administration. On the face of it, the opposition have a bit of a point, as spread evenly the inaugurations should work out at about one a month, not 12 in less than 4 weeks. However, like all councils, Santa Cruz have to do things the ‘Uncle Bertie way’, and that means holding projects back until election time to leave the voters with good and very recent memories, as their needs and desires are fulfilled. Are voters really that stupid, as Bertie and the PSD are indirectly implying. I think not. The majority will still vote for Bertie regardless of how many white elephants, pigs in pokes, and BS the government and councils deliver, so what is the point in holding things back?

Along similar lines, we in Ribeira Brava have been treated to free entertainment over the Summer weekends. At first it was once a fortnight or less, now it is every week, and the quality acts are being saved until the last weeks, as last night showed when probably over a thousand people came to watch several acts, one of which was imported. The president of Ribeira Brava was quoted in the newspaper some weeks ago as saying he doesn’t mix politics with business … yeah, right! Of course they are not really free, as someone pays for them, probably the taxpayer, or perhaps I have it all wrong and the PSD fund it all from their election budgets?

Loads of political stuff in today’s newspaper (more than the rest put together, excluding sport and entertainment), and on the TV, radio … it’s everywhere and there is nowhere to hide without going into hibernation. I reckon the Diário must have already sacked those 10 journalists, and it seems that none of the sacked ones were from the political reporting team.

(5th September). ‘Community Funding Diverted – The budget that should be applied in the restoration of a levada was used for other purposes. AJAMPS already resolved the matter, but the illegal practice is being investigated’. The Association Of Young Farmers Of Madeira and Porto Santo (AJAMPS) used money allocated for the restoration of a levada in Porto da Cruz to pay current expenses. The money was funding provided by the EU specifically for the levada project, and the association almost lost the right to apply for future funding through its actions, and had to turn to the bank for help in correcting the situation. What was even worse that the restoration work was done and the company was not paid the €175,000 owed (not at the time anyway). Diverting and misuse of European funding, whatever next! What on earth would Uncle Bertie think of such an action, diverting funding, not paying suppliers, then trying to conceal the action. At least we have a government here that these naughty young farmers can use as a role model.

‘Under 23′ Pass Doesn’t Come To Madeira – The students in higher education have, since the beginning of the month, a reduction of 50% on the cost of public transport. But only on the continent’. A bus pass from a rural zone to the University of Madeira costs up to €160 (per month) without any discount. From 1st September higher education students are allowed 50% discount on their bus travel in Portugal, but here on Madeira, the measure has not been applied, at least for now. The students will continue to receive a 25% rebate through an Academic Association. According to Luís Eduardo Nicolau, the president of the Association, there have been no answers. "We called the (bus company) ‘Horários do Funchal’ and they said they knew nothing about it. The students of Madeira are again in no man’s land". The government of Madeira is talking of discrimination. From the viewpoint of the regional government, this difference is a clear discrimination for the students of the Azores and Madeira, not to mention those studying at smaller universities in in the country, at least that is the opinion of Francisco Fernandes, the regional secretary for Education.

‘Exhibition Teaches to ‘Overcome Fears’ – The ‘BD’ raises awareness for the objectives of the United Nations’. The cartoon strip exhibition, that opens next month, called "Overcoming The Fears", is a ‘journey’ through the eight Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations that are planned to be completed by 2015. The exhibition has already been in some major venues in Portugal, and now comes to Funchal. The exhibition, a national initiative of the Portuguese Institute for Development Support of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, will be inaugurated on Wednesday October 7th, at 6 pm at the Electricity Museum (Casa da Luz) in Funchal, staying open to the public until 31st October. The Millennium Development Goals were established in September 2000 between the Heads of State and Governments from 189 countries, including Portugal. The meeting took place at the United Nations, resulting in the signing of the Millennium Declaration. The countries present committed themselves to fighting poverty and hunger, gender inequality, environmental degradation, and HIV / AIDS. The assembly also committed to improving access to education, health care and drinking water. The agreed eight Millennium Development Goals were to be achieved by 2015. I wonder why it has taken 9 years to deliver this information to us in Madeira, with only 6 years left I am thinking this might not work out as expected, and what are these ‘fears’ I wonder?

The sports / football headline : ‘Compelled To Win ‘Doing Without’ Benefits – The national squad of Portuguese football just want to win the great prize : to be in the World Cup’. I can’t find this story online yet, but will return to it later if it crops up.

Our local sides don’t play this weekend, as Portugal are playing Denmark in a critical World up qualifying game. That’s on TVI channel 4 at 7 pm tonight.

Petrol and diesel will both drop 1 cêntimo per litre in price on Monday.

UPDATES :

‘Bad Weather Interferes In August – Entrances in the swimming complexes in Funchal decreased compared to 2008′. The number of entrance tickets sold diminished in the facilities in Funchal managed by FrenteMar in August, with the bad weather during the final fortnight of the month blamed. Sales were up until 22nd August, but from 23rd to the 31st there was a "rampant descent" in sales. Last year 100,637 tickets were sold in August, but this year it was down to 97,823. The Lido complex was the most popular as always, with 51,033 tickets sold. I don’t remember any bad weather, a couple of cloudy days at worst. It’s not rained over my way for a couple of months, unless I was hibernating.

‘Security Of Hiper Sã Catches Thief With €5,000′. A 20 year old man was caught trying to escape from the store in São Martinho, whilst in the road, with the money stolen from an employee. The Funchal man had hidden in the store until after closing time, and then around 11.30 pm jumped an employee in the restaurant area who was counting up the days takings. The thief ran into a passer by as he was fleeing, fell, and was then caught and held until the police arrived.

The driver of this car had ‘popped into’ a petrol station in Gaula to ‘fill up’ very early yesterday morning, doing slightly more than the recommended velocity. He also hit a petrol pump before entering the premises.

‘New Roads Inaugurated In Machico And Ponta do Sol’. The road linking the villages of Achada and Fajã dos Rolos, in the parish of Santo da Serra in Machico, will be inaugurated today at 5 pm by the president of the Regional Government, Alberto João Jardim. About an hour and a half later, he will open the road to Levada da Vargem, in Lombada, in Ponta do Sol.

‘Electricity of Madeira Invests €13 Million – Wind energy already represents 6.5% of the total production of the electricity of Madeira’. The region has another wind turbine park in Paul da Serra, with 12 units. It was inaugurated by president Jardim yesterday. Each unit has a potential to generate 850 kW. A spokesman for the electricity company EEM said that two more such parks would be constructed in 2010 with a potential of 15 MW, that will take wind power up to 9.8% of the total of electricity production, with the eventual aim of 30% of production through renewable resources in 2017.

Today’s main news headline : ‘Government Has 130 In Positions Of Trust – The team includes secretaries, directors, presidents of institutes, cabinet chiefs and assistants. Costing €5 million annually just in wages, it has less advisers and more consultants’. The Diário refers to them more or less as the ‘Orange Brigade’. A band of merry men working for president Jardim, ranging from Regional Secretaries (where appointed, rather than elected politicians) to advisors. Alberto João Jardim leads a team equivalent to an infantry company, but with much higher costs, especially since almost all are highly qualified or experienced. It represents a significant fiscal burden to Madeira. In round numbers, over five million Euros per year in salaries, not including allowances, expenses, subsidies, vehicles, and equipment. Those termed purely as ‘advisers’ have been cut from 39 to 14 to save costs in the last year or so, as the treasury could not accommodate all the costs. I can’t imagine why this has come up now, especially so near to election time, but it has been reported before. No doubt some of them are genuine needs, but 130 people (neither politicians or civil servants), for a little island like this. Come on! Every political system has cronies for sure, but this is a little regional autonomy not a state.

The pre-election campaign for the Assembly of the Republic is going to start tomorrow for the PSD social democrats. Candidates will not only start door to door campaigning, but will also be waiting at church entrances. The party is aiming to take 5 of the 6 seats available to Madeira. 

‘Eurozone to grow more strongly – Interest rates stay at their lowest level in the ECB’s 10-year history’. The European Central Bank (ECB) has raised its forecast for economic growth in the Eurozone and kept interest rates on hold at 1%. The head of the bank said there was an expectation that "severe contraction" would now be followed by a period of "stabilisation and gradual recovery". Eurozone rates were cut from 1.25% to a record low of 1% in May this year.

(1st September). Today’s main news headline  : ‘Espada Runs Short – Fall of 28% in the catch of the sword-fish (Black Scabbard) in the first 6 months of this year affects earnings and threatens the typical dish of Madeiran gastronomy’. The lack of catch of espada is leaving hotels and restaurants feeling difficulties in serving one of the most typical meals of Madeira, and fishermen have lost a million Euros in six months. The year will not be easy for some Madeiran fishermen, with such a fall in revenue compared to 2008, amounting to a 10.9% reduction in the sales in fish markets. However, the amount of catch by weight has dropped just 1.3% (that is for all types of fish). It seems that there are fishermen who fish just for espada fish, and their revenue losses were €896,000 in six months, the only group of fishermen who saw a decline in revenue. The price of espada, at the fish markets, has risen from €2.30 per kilo to €2.50 a kilo over the period in comparison. An increase of 8%. The revenue earned by fishermen in 2008 amounted to €16.3 million. There is a chart HERE that summarises the catch for the different types of fish for the first six months of 2009. Tuna fish and mackerel are up, but everything else is down. I recall (I think) a couple of years ago that the EU wanted to impose fishing quotas on the espada catch, but was persuaded not to. Maybe over-fishing is the cause, who knows?

‘More Expensive Justice Concerns Judges – The judicial year reopens today. Beyond the crisis, the increase in insolvencies and bad debt cases will leave a mark’. The Summer recess is over, and the return to work will be dominated by warrants of execution and unpaid loans. This year so far has already seen more cases than in the whole of 2008, and there is some doubt whether there are sufficient legal resources to deal with the workload, and there is particular concern in the case of insolvencies, that need to be processed quickly. Legal charges, which were increased in April, have caused a reduction in the number of cases dealing with unpaid loans since then. Highlights of the new legal session should see the trials of the ‘Fugitive’, the second trial of the former President of Ponta do Sol, the trial of the former vice president of Funchal Rui Marote, the massive seizure of cocaine (55 kilos) at Madeira Airport, and the seizure of ecstasy tablets (17,000) in São Vicente.

‘Madeirans Provide Music To The Italians – An exchange project of students of the Conservatório’. The 5 students from the Professional School of Arts of Madeira will be off to Italy to perform between 3rd and 10th September.

The main front page photo today shows a footballer on the ground at the Choupana pitch : ‘Breathless Nacional Allow Draw (1 – 1) – The Alvinegros blame tiredness from their trip to Russia, made worse with a lack of options in the squad’. Meanwhile last night, Benfica thrashed Vitória de Setúbal 8 – 1.

‘The Canoeists Of ‘Around Madeira’ Break Bathing Rules’. During the final day of the competition for canoeists, competitors illegally entered a zone reserved for swimmers in Ribeira Brava. Maritime authorities were involved, but played down the incident.

‘River Cleaning Goes Forward This Month – Firemen, the army, Funchal council, and neighbourhoods join forces in the clean up’. In readiness for potential Winter problems, the weekend of 18-19th September has been scheduled for the cleaning work, in and around Funchal. Even scouts will be involved in the the work that will involve more than 100 people. A prime objective is to prevent flooding and mudslides during heavy Winter rainfall, but a more general clean up in some neighbourhoods will also be done.

‘Three Theft Suspects Detained In Funchal – The young men are suspected of robberies in establishments in Porto da Cruz, and the theft of vehicles’. The three men aged between 24 and 31 have been detained as suspects for crimes against property and vehicle theft. Police say a vehicle stolen in Machico was intercepted in São Martinho (Funchal), with the 24 year old man driving, without having a driving license, and the two accomplices as passengers. On searching the car the police found indications that led to the suspicions of crimes committed in Porto da Cruz, and also drugs purchased with the crime proceeds. The 24 year old man was also caught driving a stolen car on Saturday night, and had only just been released after that.

The sale of conventional light bulbs is affected by new EU rules from today. They are to be phased out in favour of eco-bulbs (low consumption – long life), and existing stocks of some conventional types will be run down from today.

UPDATES :

(J da M) The new fire station in Calheta should be ready for use in January or February 2010, said the regional secretary responsible for the project, during a visit to the site yesterday. The project in sítio de São João, Lombo do Doutor, is costing nearly €3 million and is the last of the new fire stations to be built on Madeira, with one more then to be built on Porto Santo.

‘The Programme Was Exceptional’. From today’s Jornal da Madeira, the account of the live TV shown on SIC (channel 6) yesterday from Funchal docks, was that it was an excellent event. I just mentioned it because I liked the photo with the article.

‘Teachers Dominate Lists – Almost half of the Madeiran candidates for the national elections are civil servants’. Of the 7 parties represented in the race for the Assembly of the Republic, there are 42 candidates standing from Madeira, of which 19 are government employees, 10 being from teaching. Another 6 are lawyers / solicitors, and 3 have medical backgrounds. The average age is 43, and 60% of the candidates are male. Alberto João Jardim, head of the list for PSD-M, is the second oldest on the list at 66. The youngest candidate is a lady aged just 21, but as 3rd on the list of the New Democracy Party she won’t be leaving Madeira for São Bento, and that’s a certainty.

‘Jardim Will Inaugurate €125 Million Worth Of Works Up Until 9th October – In the next 40 days the president of the government will move throughout the archipelago doing sometimes more than one inauguration per day’. In total there are 65 new investments. Most the works are public, with just 6 in the private sector, and include new roads, schools, and sports facilities. The first today is a new 1,300 metre agricultural road in Fajã, costing €2.1 million, replacing a narrow path that until now had served the population.