Sérgio Marques, regional secretary, between 2015 and 2017, in the first government of Miguel Albuquerque, former MEP, and who resigned as a deputy in the national parliament because he did not have “the confidence of the chairman of my chairman, of my party”, after statements to Diário de Notíciasstates that “the economic groups [AFA e Sousa] have excessive power”, causing the region to have “difficulties in defending the public interest”.
The also former member of the regional assembly of Madeira speaks of a “disproportionate increase in the power of these groups (…) especially now that they are the Madeira newspaper It is DN Madeira. It worries me”.
“Economic power must be limited, subservient to political power. The economy cannot be locked up by half a dozen entrepreneurshe claimed.
Former Regional Secretary of Public Works [lugar equiparado a ministro]who told DN that “one and the other amassed a lot of power and at some point began to condition the governance”, questioned by the investigative committee in the parliament of Madeira, guaranteed that he left the regional government in 2017, because Miguel Albuquerque told him he would no longer be number two, replaced by Pedro Calado who was an administrator in the AFA group at the time.
With regard to this entry into the government of the current mayor in Funchal, Sérgio Marques believes that “it was a personal decision” by Miguel Albuquerque “that must have properly evaluated the choice”.
“I thought I had no place in government anymore. I made the place available and left”insured.
He stated to DN on January 15 that “when the government was reshuffled, when I left the government, there was a lot of Jardim work there. Jardim played his parts and portrayed Avelino [grupo AFA] and Sousa [grupo Sousa] in the field. O [Luís Miguel] Sousa manages to keep Eduardo Jesus away because Eduardo Jesus [secretário regional] had an agenda to renew the port. The Avelino [Farinha] he 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”.
In other words, this Monday he admitted that “the government’s priorities” – those election promises were translated into a government program approved by the deputies of the PSD – did not satisfy some companies, namely the AFA (…) and therefore [Avelino Farinha, líder do grupo AFA] I wouldn’t be satisfied with my performance (…) the priorities didn’t matter to the AFA group”, which wanted “big, large-scale works”.
Busy? Sérgio Marques says he did not feel any pressure from either side [Miguel Albuquerque]either from another [Avelino Farinha]. I was not pressured.”
And the “garden finger”? “There are many ways to turn people down (…) there was interest [de Avelino Farinha] by not having me in public works”the former ruler answers questions from PCP deputy Ricardo Lume.
“I take full responsibility for these statements [ao DN] (…) I am not retracting anything at all (…) everything I said is in line with my thoughts (…) I accept and repeat”
To DN, in the report The “guys” who plotted Jardim, the millions of works “invented” and the rulers “removed” by businessmenthe former ruler of Madeira stated that Alberto João Jardim “continues to shape the political life of the party a lot. And a lot with the help of the economic groups he helped form to condition the PSD and governance […].Jardim still has a great motivation, it is my impression, in his life, to have an important action in the removal of Miguel [Albuquerque] of the government presidency”.
And he emphasized that “the problem is that this social-democratic administration eventually led to the assertion of four or five economic groups, which ended up accumulating a lot of power: Sousa, Avelino, Pestana, Trindade and Trindade/Blandy. And especially two groups […]Luis Miguel [Sousa]with whom I worked for eight years, and Avelino [Farinha] I think they benefited most from regional governance”.
Sérgio Marques, who says he “has no problem with businessmen Luís Miguel Sousa and Avelino Farinha – he even talks about a” friendly “relationship – considers the “monopoly” in port activity” of the Sousa group as “unsustainable”..
“There has been no competition for 30 years. It is unacceptable (…) no government [nem de Jardim, nem de Albuquerque] had the opportunity to change this situation. It’s an anomalous situation,” he considered – admitting the case could be seen as “privilege” or “favour”.- and then ask why there is no action by the competition authority or the regulator.
And licenses, replied CDS delegate Ana Monteiro, “it is not the adequate solution, because there has been no competition in 30 years”.
What about the “fabricated works” – those that the opposition estimates cost nearly €900 million – and which Miguel Sousa, Jardim’s former deputy, says have led Madeira “to bankruptcy. And that debt we still today”?
“It was a government mistake to release these worksSérgio Marques reaffirms in response to a question from PSD deputy Brício Araújo.
“At some point, works began to be invented, they wanted to continue with the same government plan, the same line. Unnecessary works, that logic of development companies, all those idiotic investments that development companies have madesaid to DN on January 15.
Is it a matter to be investigated? “I have not mentioned any fact that could be investigated by the Member of Parliament”, says the former PSD deputy.
The social democrat spoke in the investigative committee set up at the request of the PS, the largest political force in the regional opposition (it occupies 19 of the 47 seats in the hemisphere), to investigate the “favoring economic groups by the regional government, by the chairman of the regional government and regional secretaries and fabricated works”having regard to the confession of former regional secretary Sérgio Marques, in statements to the Diario de Noticias, likely to constitute the practice of various crimes”.
“Economic power must be limited, subordinated to political power. The economy cannot be locked up by half a dozen entrepreneurs”
At stake are accusations from Sérgio Marques, in statements to the Diario de Noticiaspublished on January 15, from “works invented from 2000”, when Alberto João Jardim (PSD) was president of the Madeiran executive, and economic groups that grew with the “finger of the garden”.
“There are many ways to turn people down (…) there was interest [de Avelino Farinha] by not having me in public works”
Entrepreneurs Luís Miguel de Sousa (Grupo Sousa) and Avelino Farinha (Grupo AFA) have already been heard by the committee both denied any pressure on the Madeiran executive, while the President of the Government of Madeira, the Social Democrat Miguel Albuquerque, has replied in writing to the 146 questions from the PS and the PCP under a privilege to which he is entitled.
The President of the Government of Madeira (PSD/CDS-PP) rejects that Madeiran businessmen Luís Miguel de Sousa and Avelino Farinha have exerted any pressure on the executive and believes that the major economic groups in the region have grown through their “hard work”.
Source: DN
