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!!!!!

Loads of stuff in today’s news, so here is a bit of a clear out …

(17th June). Tuesday’s heavy rain caused many collisions, accidents, and breakdowns on the major roads, resulting in traffic congestion all along the via rápida. One accident at night involved 3 vehicles colliding, with a woman taken to hospital, but released in the morning.

A number of complaints have been made about the state of the pond in the Municipal Gardens in Funchal. Aside from being dirty, there is insufficient oxygen in the water, and the fish are dying.

Registrations are open for the Summer Course "We speak and write Portuguese", a free intensive course for an elementary level of Portuguese as a Foreign Language. Classes begin on 2 July and finish on the 31st. The main objective of this elementary level course is learning the Portuguese language and improving the language skills of students, and it is open to foreigners. The course is organised by the Departamento de Estudos Romanísticos, but I have no more information nor have any idea where this is, but if somebody is interested and finds out and lets me know I will post the information here.

Around 11,000 laptop computers are due to be delivered to Madeira by the 15th July, to be distributed to junior school children. Many children will receive them free, whilst better off families will have to pay some contribution.

The traditional craft of embroidery on Madeira is under threat, because of new rules on Social Security contributions. Company contributions will increase from 10 to 20.3%, and individuals will pay 9% instead of 2.3%. Many companies in this sector have already closed in recent years.

‘Madeira Beats Record – A new European record has been established in coarse fishing’. A 30kg Spearfish was caught a mile off the coast of Ponta da Cruz. The previous record had stood for 22 years. Nice photo of the dead fish, who got the hook caught in its eye causing serious injury, and had to be killed rather than released. I bet that fact will be omitted from the record books.

(28th May). "Undeniably Portuguese Territory" – ‘Jaime Gama and António Manuel Correia work to enhance biodiversity and conservation in the Selvagens Islands’. The President of the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal said that the visit made on Tuesday to the Selvagens was a "statement of presence in a territory that is undoubtedly Portuguese", a warning to the Spanish who have been using the airspace in a long running dispute. Gama spoke from the biggest island ‘Selvagem Grande’, that forms part of the sub-archipelago of Madeira, accompanied by a group from the National defence Commission for the Assembly of the Republic. Gama also stressed the importance of work for the preservation of biodiversity, stating that "it is a wild landscape of great natural beauty," as recognized by Jacques Cousteau, who said that the local waters were the clearest in the world. The regional secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources, Manuel António Correia, said that this visit disproved the feeling that "Portugal does not recognize properly the environmental work done by Madeira. This is a real environmental sovereignty" the secretary said, adding that with all the work done on nature conservation, along with the presence of wardens "Portugal meets all requirements to maintain jurisdiction over land and surrounding sea areas".  The Chief of Staff (CEMA), Admiral Fernando Melo Gomes, stressed that "this paradise will continue with the support of the Navy", and announced that from the summer period he will put a team of Marines on the islands to help maintain order and preserve the beauty. How did Gama get back to Lisbon by plane? The question was answered, and he took a helicopter to Madeira and a plane from there.

‘Medical journals of the Atlantic Islands – Meeting runs from 3 to 6 June in Funchal. Vaccines, ageing, and breast cancer are the major topics of discussion’. The meeting, which will unite around 150 professionals from Madeira, the Azores, the Canaries, and Cape Verde, comprises three round tables, which will discuss the advances in vaccination, ageing and breast cancer. Work will start with a conference on ‘Climate Change and Emerging Infectious Diseases’, which will have as speaker Jorge Atouguia, associate professor of the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

(27th May). ‘Drugs Seized Worth One Million – Since the beginning of this month police have impounded more than €1 million in drugs’. Judicial Police (PJ) have prevented the hauls reaching the streets of Madeira, and according to the coordinator of the Criminal Investigation Department of the PJ in Funchal, the €1,088,230 euros of drugs seized were the fruit of hard work, and not the result of operations planned for this month. In all there were eight seizures, all detailed in the article. There were a lot of foreigners involved, and in the last bust on Monday, two men of African origin were taken into custody after being caught with 2,000 cocaine fixes, and 600 of hashish, worth altogether on the streets around €53,000.

‘Recreational Park At Matur – The project should include a facility for observing planes’. At the end of 2010, the zone of Matur in Água de Pena, should have a ‘modern and sophisticated’ leisure area, in the area where the Hotel Atlantis used to be, before it was demolished because of it’s proximity to the airport. The responsible regional secretary, who is preparing the project, has a main objective "to create a green area for public recreation", with one aim being to accomodate plane spotters because it has a good outlook over Madeira Airport. Plane spotting, according to the article, is a hobby growing in popularity on Madeira. Young visitors to the new site will also have climbing equipment, and swings and slides to play on.

Under the programme to provide all school kids with a simple and cheap laptop computer, of the 13,800 eligible youngsters at basic level school, around 8,000 (60%) have already made their applications, and that has happened just since the 8th May. The eventual level of requests is expected to provide laptops for at least 95% of all kids. The programme for older kids (5th to 12th years) is also providing low cost laptops to around 11,000. I presume these are all for recreational and research use, as without 100% adherence I can’t see that they can form part of school lessons.

Madeira’s population has a very low feeling of insecurity, thanks to the population at large and the work of the security forces. Tuesday morning, at the swearing in of Jorge de Freitas as president of the Office of Regional Security Coordination, President Alberto João Jardim praised the climate of cooperation that exists between the different services that ensure public security. The role is intended to enhance cooperation between the various police and security services in joint actions, and will not interfere in the work of them individually. That’s good to know. Unlike Portugal, where people are feeling much more insecure according to recent reports, as crime increases with economic depression. One day this week someone gave me a newspaper from Portugal, called ‘O Crime’, which is purely dedicated to reporting crime on the mainland. I presume it is to draw attention to the growing issue, but with a cover price of €1.40, it seems the publishers don’t practice what they preach. It’s quite a big talking point here on Madeira about the continental crime levels, but most people are really not sure it is as bad as get reported in the media.

A dockers strike scheduled for today and tomorrow, and again in limited form between 1st and 5th June, will affect refuelling of ships visiting or stationed in Madeira waters.