The leader of IL (Liberal Initiative), Rui Rocha, defended this Monday that there should be a “political verdict” on TAP’s management, accusing the Prime Minister, António Costa, of being the “major political responsible” for the airline situation.
“António Costa is the main political responsible for this whole situation. As IL has said from the beginning, often alone and without guidance, we are facing a bad political decision, which is the renationalization of TAP,” said Rui Rocha, talking to the media in the city of Horta in the Azores.
For Rui Rocha, there is an “attempt” to “clean the political power out of the situation” as there must be a “very strong political censorship judgment” on Prime Minister António Costa.
“There needs to be a political judgment on the management of TAP as a whole. We cannot see the political power, the government, being left out of an assessment of the conduct of all these situations,” he stressed.
The General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) has concluded that the agreement signed for the departure of Alexandra Reis from TAP is null and void, the government said, which will ask for the repayment of the amounts.
Following the IGF report, the government acquitted the chairman of the board and the executive chairman of TAP, Manuel Beja and Christine Ourmières-Widener.
The president of IL stated that the IGF report confirms the “obvious”, referring to the existence of “insufficient management” in the departure of Alexandra Reis from the carrier.
“We have a serious consequence. The live televised resignation of a TAP management team. This goes against what the Prime Minister has said over time that these were business and business. This is not an affair. A serious matter,” he stressed. .
The Liberal also believed that the political decisions regarding TAP showed “lack of respect for taxpayers’ money”.
“None of this should have happened. TAP should have remained a private company, because in the end it is the Portuguese who pay for all these management actions and all these politically wrong decisions. It is necessary to hold António Costa accountable,” he stressed. .
Speaking of TAP’s new president, Luís Rodrigues, who ran the Azorean company SATA, Rui Rocha said he hoped “a competent and stable management” would be found to lead the privatization process.
“I am not going to make specific comments about the person. TAP, as is known, is initiating steps towards privatization. This privatization is urgent,” he stressed.
The Minister of Finance defended that the government took the necessary decisions for the proper functioning of TAP and for a “turnaround” in the process involving Alexandra Reis.
For the IGF, regardless of whether Alexandra Reis left because of “reporting or dismissal for convenience”, she will have to “repay to TAP the amounts she received after the termination of her duties as director, which amount to 443,500 euros. , at least 6,610.26 euros, which corresponds to benefits in kind”.
Source: DN
