The Algarve’s most active MP, Paulo Sá from the Communist Party, has asked the government what it is going to do about the appalling state of many of the region’s Finanças offices.
Sá noted the Dickensian conditions at the offices in Alcoutim, Aljezur, Castro Marim, Monchique, São Brás de Alportel and Vila do Bispo.
A lack of staff was the number one complaint, followed by a lack of privacy for the public, inadequate waiting areas and a lack of basic equipment.
A report, recently issued by the Faro District Directorate of the Tax Workers' Union, noted the problems and the Communist MP took the list to parliament to try and get some assurances that the government was aware of the problem and to ask for remedies.
The Finanças office in Alcoutim has four employees, one of whom is on indefinite sick leave, "The walls and files are affected by damp, there are security problems with the electrical circuits, the air conditioning is on the blink, there is a lack of photocopiers and the computers are obsolete,” are some of the more obvious problems in this easternmost Finanças outpost.
Out west in Aljezur, the ratio of staff to customers is 1:1,471 with service carried out in what politely can be called a cupboard with little natural light. There is a tiny waiting area with insufficient seating, the toilets seldom function and the plumbing is up the spout. Add to this, the mystery of the missing computers and it is fair to say the public is not getting the service it deserves and for which it is paying.
In the wealthier central Algarve, the report points out that in São Bras de Alportel the Finanças office is dangerous as there is no emergency exit, the floor and walls are cracked and peeling, there are electrical problems, there is lack of natural light, customer files need to be fetched from another office and there is a lack of basic office equipment.
The state of many of the region's Finanças offices is unacceptable for a service which is adept as removing cash from its customers’ pockets but fails to offer a polished, modern service.
The government will look into the allegations.
