Minister for Infrastructure and Housing visits the Azores at the invitation of the Regional Government - Communication

Presidência do Governo Regional

The Government of the Azores regrets and condemns the unspeakable political exploitation of the visit of the Minister for Infrastructure and Housing to the Region by the members of the PS/Azores party, namely Vasco Cordeiro.

It is the duty of the Government of the Azores to restore the truth and, in this context, it formally announces that the Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, João Galamba, will soon visit the Autonomous Region of the Azores, following the invitation from the President of the Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro.

The visit of the Minister for Infrastructure and Housing to the Region, which is being prepared for several days, will take place between February 5 and 6. It will include a visit to the island of Flores and the island of São Miguel in order to carry out an on-site detailed assessment of the situation regarding interventions to recover the damage caused by hurricane Lorenzo

The programme also includes a visit to infrastructures affected by that storm, including the Lajes das Flores Port.

Working meetings will also be held with a view to analysing the very complex work that remains to be done as well as the indispensable support promised by the National Government, which is still facing significant delays in its allocation.

After initial allocations in 2019, the Autonomous Region of the Azores has borne the costs of all interventions carried out using its own resources since 2021. It has already requested from the National Government the reimbursement of the financial support, as provided for in Council of Ministers Resolution no. 180/2019 of November 8.

It is incomprehensible that such an important matter for the people of the islands most affected by Hurricane Lorenzo can be used for propaganda and political self-promotion. It shows complete disregard for the adverse living conditions to which these people are subject and for the very difficult conditions to which various professionals are exposed while ensuring the normal functioning of infrastructures that are critical to the sustainability of our islands.

Vasco Cordeiro and the PS/Açores party would do the Azores a better service and show greater respect for the inhabitants of our nine islands if they used their supposed influence to solve various pending issues between the Region and the National Government, which have a very negative impact on the daily lives of the Azoreans.