Madeira News Blog

(11th June). Today’s main news headline : ‘Works Costing €83 Million Get Thumbs Down From The Auditors – Madeira is one of the regions of Portugal where projects get more attention from the Accounting Tribunal. The ‘fails’ in 2008 hit 15.2% of the contracts put forward by the government and councils of Madeira’. The auditing body refused to ‘pass’ as acceptable expenditure contracts worth €631 million across Portugal, with €83 million of that total here in this region, according to the report for 2008 released this week. Certain types of contracts need pre-approval by the TC (accounting tribunal) before they can proceed, and it seem that either Madeira gets a lot of attention, or the worth or quality of the proposals is low. The report says that most permit refusals  were related to "contracts of a financial nature referred by local authorities" and of "supply to the regional government of Madeira". The TC also includes the case of Machico, where they have found "irregularities in the amount of 19.2 million Euros". According to the report this was because measures were not taken to prevent "illegal practices in the authorization of expenditures and commitments". Nobody likes an audit, but I suspect that this lot are the only thing that stops Uncle Bertie running Madeira as if it were his own back garden.

The main picture today shows a farmer and young boy helping to shear a sheep in a rural location : ‘Dedication Supports Tradition Of The Shearers – The wool of a sheep is not worth more than €0.75 and really no longer has a market’. Young Diogo is 13, and wants to be a shepherd when he finishes school. School for him has not gone well, and he feels more at home with a pair of shearing scissors in hand. He doesn’t yet seem to understand what a dull life it is, with very little reward. The passion for the work is shared by the 80 members of the Association of Cattle Breeders of the Serra do Poiso, who together have around 800 animals to raise, and they do it through like and stubbornness. The wool itself sells for €0.50 per kilo, and a good sheep provides around a kilo and a half, so it is really not worth the effort financially. A lovely story about the lives of the shepherds, but it doesn’t really belong on the front page of a newspaper.

‘Another Disappointment Before The Holidays – Queiroz took the opportunity to try out players in Estonia but the performance (0-0) was again mediocre’. That pretty much sums up last night’s friendly football match as Portugal went  to Estonia.

It’s not in the newspaper yet, but the story has already broken on this blog that Manchester United have accepted an offer for around €90 million for Cristiano Ronaldo. If all terms are agreed, he will be a Real Madrid player by the end of this month.

(10th June). There was an article about more problems with the tendering process for the redevelopment of the Marítimo Stadium (Barreiros, Funchal), a project costing €46.9 million, funded by the Madeira government. A complicated piece, so I didn’t attempt to cover it, but I thought the photo might be of interest as to what the stadium will become, or so I presume.

‘Marítimo Player Accused Of Assaulting His Wife’. Fernando Silva is accused of an assault that happened on Sunday, but denies the charge of domestic violence, saying it was just an argument. His wife took the matter to the police after being taken to hospital by ambulance, with injuries to her face and a fractured leg. It’s quite a shocking story, depending on which side you hear, but the sister of the wife says the drunk footballer punched and kicked her sister, and then fled, returning later with more aggression. And it’s not the first time the wife has been to the police with such a complaint.

A new road inaugurated by President Jardim on Tuesday, has turned a ‘shortcut’ into a decent road, at the cost of €1 million, in Santo da Serra. The street named ‘Caminho Mary Jane Wilson’, is named in tribute to a former British Sister and founder of the Franciscan congregation of our Lady of the Victories. She was well recognized by her work, and through the creation of orphanages and schools. There is also a museum in Funchal (56 – 61 Rua do Carmo) dedicated to her.

‘Tenant Protests Against Eviction Order And Destroys Building’. The tenant, in protest about an eviction order from the courts, decided to vandalise his former residence before returning it to the owner. When the solicitor for enforcement went to the building in Funchal to follow the court order, he was met with a space "transformed into a real dump". Nothing escaped the wrath of the person who destroyed everything he could including structural parts of the property, and the handrail of the stairs, and electricity wiring. It is likely that the owner of the property will prosecute. Watch out if you have a property to rent, as there will be somebody rather undesirable looking for a new home.

Tobi dropped me a line about an invasion of jelly fish. There is nothing yet in the newspaper about it, but they do usually come very year, normally earlier if I recall, and then just disappear again in a few days. Tobi says there are loads at Garajau and also at Lido.

(9th June). ‘Jersey Warns Traffickers From Madeira – The authorities on Jersey came to Funchal to protest and correct the situation with the police to stop the drug traffic from here to there. They are also preparing a campaign to alert about heavy prison sentences’. The advertising campaign warns of heavy penalties of imprisonment for those caught drug trafficking, involves the Jersey Police and Customs, and is aimed at drug dealers from Poland, Madeira, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. The Jersey authorities, with police and other security units, came to Madeira in May to meet their counterparts here to discuss strategies to prevent the problem, which is rife over there because of the high prices that drugs are sold for. Only last August, a Madeiran was sent to prison for 3 years for possession of less than 10 grams of heroin, and another in October for three and a half years, caught with 12 grams of the same drug, brought from Madeira. In one of those cases the prosecution even accepted the defence that the drug was for personal use. What an embarrassment … even I feel embarrassed! That’s one export Madeira doesn’t want, especially to a country that provides work for so many Madeirans, and welcomes them into the community as well. I know it’s just a few idiots spoiling matters for everyone, but can’t they see the potential damage? There are expressions that covers this situation, that have the word nest, backyard, or bed, but as they contain a swear word I will refrain from repeating, oh hang on, how about ‘biting the hand that feeds you’. The equivalent announcement from yesterday (in English of course) is here in the JERSEY EVENING POST

‘Barardo Remembers That He Invested Here Instead Of Favouring Brazil – The businessman is irritated with the delay of the Câmara that holds up the demolition of the Savoy. Among many messages, he says that "talk doesn’t create jobs" ‘. Joe Barardo, the administrator of the group responsible for the Savoy’s plans, believes the plans submitted for demolition are complete, and that Funchal council (CMF) has no real grounds for delaying the matter. In the plans the destruction of the two hotels by implosion is preferred as being quicker and cheaper, but CMF are looking into dismantling as a safer option. Referring to Sunday’s election results, Berardo is "concerned with the dissatisfaction of the Portuguese people" with the political situation, enough to "spread fear also in the business world", and he shows growing concern for the growing support for the Left Block and Communist Parties, and fears for nationalisation. Joe Berardo again emphasized that "investors can not wait that long for the administrative decisions of licensing authorities, because the market position is very complicated". He also refers to the plans to 10 years ago to demolish the site for the Royal Savoy, and said there were no reservations or objections then. I think I must have woken up on a different planet this morning … communism, nationalisation, implosions in busy tourist zones … what has this guy been smoking!

‘Fishing Boat Was In Danger At Open Sea Near São Vicente – 5 crew members were rescued by another boat in the area’. The ‘Encumeada’ was spotted adrift early this morning, with the alarm raised at 5am. The authorities mustered all the resources they could from civil protection and the fire brigade, to rescue the crew members from the boat that was taking on water 3 miles offshore, and even the Merlin helicopter was summoned. But a nearby boat, the ‘Felicidade Rocha’ actually beat them to it and made the rescue, and was in the process of towing the vessel in distress towards Porto Moniz.

‘The Cherry Festival In Jardim da Serra next Sunday’. The regional secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources, Manuel António Correia, will be present next Sunday in the festive ceremonies of another year of the ‘Festa da Cereja’ in Jardim da Serra. The celebrations start on Saturday, at 2pm, with great entertainment, followed on Sunday by a number of initiatives, which include several musical performances, sporting tests, allegorical parade, and a cooking demonstration, among others. The event is organized by the Casa do Povo (House of the People).

An employee of Funchal Council (CMF) was convicted yesterday of ‘diverting’ €46,000, and sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment, suspended for the same period. The case dates back to 3rd July, 2007 when the Funchal Police announced that it had arrested an employee of a council, on suspicion of the crimes of embezzlement and falsifying of documents. The 47 year old woman admitted the charges, apologised, and acknowledged the need to repay the money.

Porto Moniz hoisted its ‘blue flag’ for beach quality this morning.

The residents of different parts of Caniço are dissatisfied with the current postal service, that is being undertaken by a company subcontracted by CTT (Post Office / Mail). The problem is not only in Caniço, but also in other areas of Madeira complaints are being made. Important correspondence such as bank letters, and water, electricity and telephone bills disappear without trace. Even if the victims go to the post office (Correios) to complain of the disappearance of letters, they are poorly served and end up without an answer. If the ‘CTT’ does not solve the problem, and refuses to reveal what it intends to do, the people of Caniçal are considering taking the case to another extreme. Join the club, my postal services went downhill two years ago. I am still waiting for my June TV magazine, which was sent from Portugal two weeks ago.

This from the UK Daily Telegraph today : Cristiano Ronaldo could miss Manchester United’s pre-season training next month, after withdrawing from Portugal’s squad for Wednesday’s friendly against Estonia with a suspected hernia injury. Ronaldo, 24, has returned to his home island of Madeira after complaining of pain in the lower abdomen prior to, and after, Saturday’s World Cup qualifying victory over Albania in Tirana.

‘Nenê Is No Longer Going To Dubai – Nacional and Al Nasr don’t reach agreement on the payment terms. Germany could be the destination for the goal wizard’. Following on from the news yesterday about the €5 million offer from Al Nasr.

(8th June). ‘Giant Fig Fed Five People – It was the result of a graft, and grew to 300 grams’. Found in Caniço, the fruit "seems to have been blessed with divine generosity". This fruit was protected from blackbirds until it split naturally, and then went to provide pudding for a family of five.  Not my area of expertise, but it doesn’t look that miraculous to me. I know a lot of readers here like to discuss fruit, so that’s why I included the story.

(28th May). The main news headline of the day : ‘Records Of The Crisis’. ‘Yesterday, there were 81 jobs on offer for almost 12 thousand unemployed. 10 vacancies were filled. Cooks are the workers most sought after. The economic and social rut gets deeper. The income of 1,599 rich families is worth as much as that earned by the 32,813 poor families’. (These headlines seem to get longer and longer!). Employers apparently are fairly undemanding on qualifications for the few jobs on offer, with just 81 registered vacancies listed on Thursday, and those vacancies are very quickly filled. Most of the positions are in Funchal, but some of those advertised go as far as the Azores.

"If We Had New Jobs, The Youngsters Wouldn’t Leave the Parish" – The lack of work and the low wages put the youth of Seixal on the path of emigration. Yet another one of the Diário’s feature articles on Seixal makes the headlines. The quote comes from Rosária Andrade, who says that the parish is clean, with an excellent beach, and full of beautiful landscapes. Nancy Nicola, who runs a local family owned café agrees that the low salaries are the reason why the young emigrate "It is difficult to live on 400 or 500 Euros," she says "The cost of living increases and the wages remain the same". The UK is where most people want to go, and Nancy worked there 3 years, in London, working 12 hours a day. 

The big picture on the front page shows a celebrating crowd of claret and blue shirts over a group of dejected white shirts : ‘Barcelona Make Manchester United And Ronaldo Look Ordinary – Cristiano Ronaldo only managed to overcome the stars of Barcelona during the first ten minutes. Then came the party of Iniesta, Xavi, Messi and company until the end of the victory (2 – 0) without a challenge’.

Madeira now has the best facilities for carrying out veterinary type monitoring, and food safety and water checks, with the new Regional Veterinary Laboratory in São Martinho, inaugurated yesterday by the President of the Government of Madeira. The four storey building cost €8.2 million. President Jardim stressed the quality of the laboratory, proven by "the requests for proposals to work with the outside, including the continent and the Azores", and the importance of such a facility for the future, dubbing it a "weapon of peace". 

A building that was originally intended for the laboratory (above) in Poço Barral, also in São Martinho, will now be converted into a home for the elderly. The building will consist of 36 units of accommodation with 50 beds, distributed between single and double rooms. There will be a wing of 10 homes to accommodate people with mobility difficulties or disabilities.