Yet another limp announcement that Albufeira traders ‘will receive compensation soon’ has seeped into the media, not from the government this time, but from a couple of local Socialist Party MPs.
The MPs said that the Government will release "within days" lines of credit and the terms and conditions of eligibility for those affected by the flooding last November 1st when the downtown area ended up 1.8 metres underwater.
Note that ‘lines of credit’ is not the same as ‘compensation’ and the terms and conditions normally will exclude anyone that is behind with payments to Finanças or Social Security.
The financial losses to businesses, home owners and the public infrastructure have been estimated at €20 million, much of which was uninsured.
Fernando Anastácio, one of the MPs, said that the proposal to create these credit lines had already been made by Socialist MPs for consideration by the previous PSD/CDS-PP government, which rejected the idea.
"Ministers from the previous government came to Albufeira just after the storm and announced an emergency fund but this was later dropped as the situation in Albufeira was deemed ‘not an emergency situation.’
Fernando Anastácio added that he and other MPs had met business associations and a number of proposals were made to the previous Government to support local traders - these suggestions were not followed up.
"When the new Government took office, we resumed the matter with the Ministry of Economy and the Secretary of State for Internal Affairs," said Anastácio, adding that analysis was carried out to see who needed financial help.
The Socialist MP said that the lines of credit will be announces 'within days' and can be accecessed by those traders who need to refit shops and replace lost stocks, as long as they are eligible.
Fernando Anastácio criticised recent statements from Albufeira’s mayor, Carlos Silva e Sousa, who had complained at the lack of effort from the government.
Anastácio claims that it was the council that had held things up as it had committed to the Ministry of Internal Affairs that it would deliver a list of those affected by the flooding by January 31st, which it did but the list could have been delivered earlier and things could have progressed further by now.
The government is loathed to pay out for traders’ losses even though they were caused by the incompetence of the council whose flood defences failed to defend anyone when first put to the test. The Passos Coelho government response to the flooding was lame and often insulting.
The follow up response by the Socialist government is no better. Traders had been promised help from three funds but now will have the unenviable option of borrowing money to refit their shops, if they qualify for the loans at all.
