The prime minister found on Wednesday that former finance minister Alexandra Reis violated public manager status when she was appointed to Navegação Aérea de Portugal (NAV) and failed to repay part of the compensation she had received from TAP.
“I have no doubt that there was at least one area where the public manager statute was violated – and that was when the female engineer was appointed to the NAV. [Navegação Aérea de Portugal] and failed to replace any portion of the compensation it had received, admitting that the compensation was lawfully received”maintained Antonio Costa.
The Prime Minister spoke during the general policy debate that took place in the Assembly of the Republic after being questioned by the only People-Animals-Natureza (PAN) deputy, Inês Sousa Real, about whether he considered the status of the public manager “when there is involvement of public funds as was the case with TAP”.
On violations of the statute of the public manager, António Costa started with an answer to the deputy that any violation will be reviewed by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF), but he expected that in his opinion there was a violation.
“I have no doubt, it is clear that I should have sent it back”he claimed.
However, Costa stressed that “every time there is a violation of the law” that law does not have to be changed, but must “put conditions on those who apply the law to apply the law”.
“Otherwise we will always open the discussion about cases, without changing the law later when it needs to be changed”he concluded.
Inês Sousa Real argued in her speech that these cases contrast with the living conditions of the Portuguese and urged a review of IRS levels and a reduction in VAT on the basket of essential goods.
Costa responded with something he admitted was “unpopular” but “had to say”, emphasizing that “when there is a public company operating in an industry that is open to the market” such as TAP or Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) there must be a “compensation structure adapted to the sector itself”.
“Comparing the salary of a CGD administrator to the salary of someone earning the minimum wage or earning the salary of a prime minister is a comparison we cannot make. The salary is much higher than the prime minister’s, much higher than the minimum.” pay, but it is the pay that is adapted to that sector,” he stressed.
On December 27, Finance Minister Fernando Medina fired Alexandra Reis as Secretary of State for Finance, less than a month after inviting her to this government post and after four days of controversy over the €500,000 compensation. that this had been given a career manager by TAP, a company then overseen by the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Pedro Nuno Santos, who resigned a day later to “take political responsibility” for the cause.
Alexandra Reis received compensation for her early departure, in February, as the airline’s executive administrator. In June, she was appointed by the government to preside over Navegação Aérea de Portugal (NAV) and took over as Secretary of State for Finance in December.
Ventura wants to leave the TAP board
Chega’s president defended the resignation of TAP’s current government and believed that the responsibility for the company rests with the government, with the prime minister defending that “the utmost stability” is necessary at this stage.
During the debate in the Assembly of the Republic on general policy, TAP was one of the topics addressed by André Ventura, who accused the airline of lying “to the financial supervisor in the announcement he made that the former secretary of state left of his own accord”.
Under the criticism of the company’s management, Chega’s leader said that “the fee was paid without the authorization of the Ministry of Finance”, that “checks for 450 euros have been paid to directors for travel” and that “1, 2 million euros per month for damaged aircraft”.
“TAP is responsible to you and your government”he defended, questioning the Prime Minister “how do you keep faith in this government”.
“How do you maintain confidence in a government that lies to the regulator, which lies to the Portuguese, which lies to the finance minister, which lies to you and which is a disgrace to all of us, sucking money after money out of our taxes? “continued.
André Ventura defended that “it’s time” to “put TAP’s administration out on the street where it should be”.
In response, the Prime Minister said that this is a “stage of the process of selling all or part of the state’s interest in TAP, which is particularly important and therefore useful and necessary for the company to have the greatest possible stability”.
“The reasons for intervention in TAP are well known, and I believe that the role of the state shareholder vis-à-vis the administration is not to replace the administration in day-to-day management actions, but to evaluate the results. the course and with regard to isolated management actions that may be detrimental to the public interest or contrary to the law, there are specific mechanisms to act in relation to this”defended.
Antonio Costa also pointed that out “if the Securities Market Commission believes there has been a breach of obligations to the entity, it has ways of acting accordingly”.
“If there was any illegality, either the Minister of Finance or the former Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, they determined with the General Inspectorate of Finance that there would be a legality audit of the management of TAP”said.
As for the investigative committee that will sit in parliament (BE’s proposal that will make the PS viable), the prime minister said that “these are the institutions that function normally”.
In his speech, Chega’s president also questioned the prime minister about “teachers on strike across the country” and facing issues such as “low wages” or not having “supports when placed hundreds of miles from your home”considering that this is “one of the most penalized careers”.
And he criticized the “ineffectiveness of the Minister of Education and government policy in this matter”.
In a response, the Prime Minister stated that “teachers’ careers thawed in 2018” and since then “so far the career has been permanently thawed”.
“98.5% of teachers have already taken at least one step and of these 90% have already taken two steps. At the moment we have 16% of teachers at the top of their career and 36% in the last three career steps”mentioned António Costa, signaling the “huge difference” compared to what happened before his reign.
Source: DN
