Do not do business with Portimão council, unless you are prepared to an average of 1,975 days to get paid.
Five years and four months is the current settlement period for suppliers’ invoices should they have the misfortune to have supplied the local council with goods and services.
The General Directorate of Local Authorities produces a list of councils in the country that are 90 days or more behind with their payments.
The Algarve does not do well, led by Portimão, Vila Real de Santo António takes 1,366 days to settle its accounts.
The list of bad payers includes four other Algarve councils: Vila do Bispo (27th) with 294 days, Olhão (42nd) with 179 days, Albufeira (51st) with 144 days and Faro which borrows its way out of trouble has managed a low place on the list at 88th place with 94 days delay.
Portimão remains the worst performer in the entire country and has even managed to increase its lead by adding 920 days since the last survey three months before.
There has been no comment yet from Mayor Isilda Gomes who in her first year of office seems to stare failure in the face in terms of realigning the council’s finances or getting to grip with the realities of the legacy left by the fiscally deranged former mayor Manuel da Luz.
