And for the second time, “no” was said. The PSD/CDS majority again “incomprehensibly” refused – says the PCP – the hearing of Sérgio Marques in the Commission of Inquiry on “fabricated works”, in the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, at the request of PS and PCP.
The former deputy regional secretary between 2015 and 2017, in Miguel Albuquerque’s government, told DN that after 2000 “works began to be invented (…). Works without necessity, that logic of development companies, all those crazy investments ( . ..) the Luis Miguel [Sousa]with whom I worked for eight years, and Avelino [Farinha] I think they benefited most from regional governance”.
However, the refusal of PSD and CDS should not make hearing the also former PSD MEP impossible. PCP deputy Ricardo Lume ponders the potestative bill call Sérgio Marques, or Santos Costa, or Cunha e Silva [ex-secretários regionais que tiveram a tutela das obras públicas]or Eduardo Jesus who “was acquitted and then returned in 2019 to be part of the government, but curiously without the folders that were considered more controversial, namely the port operation”.
“Everything is open. We will analyze all auditions, review and see which person is most relevant to listen to at the moment,” said Ricardo Lume.
The former leader of Madeira told DN that “when the government was reshuffled, when I left the government there was a lot of interest from Jardim. Jardim played his parts and portrayed Avelino [grupo AFA] and Sousa [grupo Sousa] in the field. Sousa manages to keep Eduardo Jesus away because Eduardo Jesus [secretário regional] had an agenda to reformulate the port. Avelino was not satisfied with my performance in Public Works because I was the Secretary of Public Works and he always got used to having a secretary to serve him. That didn’t happen to me […], Avelino later manages to keep me away from public works. He didn’t want me to leave government, he just wanted me to get away from public works”.
Both Luís Miguel Sousa and Avelino Farinha have already denied putting pressure on the regional government.
The PSD, accusing the PS-M leader of a crime of false statement for “hiding”, in the declaration of interests, that he already worked in the Sousa group – despite it being public – accepted the request of the PS to that all the delegates of the Commission of Inquiry clarify “all kinds of professional and political relations, past or existing” with businessmen Luís Miguel Sousa, Avelino Farinha, members of the regional government, Alberto João Jardim, Cunha e Silva and Miguel de Sousa heard by DN in the report The “guys” who plotted Jardim, the millions of “fabricated works” and the rulers “removed” by businessmenpublished on January 15.
“Avelino was not satisfied with my performance in public works, because I was the Secretary of Public Works, and he always got used to having a secretary to serve him. That did not happen to me”. Sergio Marquis
The President of the Madeiran Executive, Miguel Albuquerque, will answer the questions of the Commission of Inquiry in writing, under a prerogative to which he is entitled.
Miguel Albuquerque gave the following explanation to DN in the article published on January 15:
Have you ever felt pressured by business people?
People know very well who is in politics because they love politics and do politics. Whoever enters politics is not to get rich. Everyone knows that. And I’ve also been in public life for so many years, me and Dr. Alberto João, and no one has ever accused us of corruption or anything like that. We are here because we like it. And we know the service we do, we are not for sacrifice. Nor was Dr. Alberto João not even me. This get-rich-quick scheme isn’t working for us. If he had wanted to, he would have gone into business.
Has anyone ever suggested removing a regional secretary who got in the way of business?
There is one thing I like to hear, I like to hear business people’s opinion, it can’t hurt to hear the opinion and listen to the society. We listen to entrepreneurs. There are things that are important to hear. The government must create the conditions for economic progress. I’m not the one making the decisions. We create the favorable conditions. One thing I also do, as we’ve always done, is receive investments, we receive investors. Now nobody comes here to tell me that they are going to buy me for political reasons, there is no such thing.
Have you never, at any time, removed anyone from your government on the advice of businessmen?
No. The changes I made in government were political changes. Never because of pressure.
Didn’t they ever tell you?
No.
No one from your government has ever left because a businessman wanted them to leave?
In my government, I don’t think so. You can ask the secretaries, but I’ve never had a secretary go on leave for reasons someone told me to leave.
Would it be strange for you to hear someone feel this way and say they left because of outside pressure or outside suggestion?
Clearly. It makes no sense, not least because the policy is determined by me and by the government as a whole. It’s not for secretaries, secretaries work on behalf of a team. And the team determines which policy will be followed and which will be reflected in the government’s budget and programme.
“They did everything that was conceivable and unthinkable, the necessary and the unnecessary, what will never be necessary, what was never finished and never will be.” […]. And that was it, Madeira went bankrupt”. Miguel Sousa
Source: DN
