Presidente do Conselho sem resposta às pessoas afectadas pelo atraso das obras na estrada de Quelfes
The PSD made a point of making a strong presence in the last ordinary session of the Parish Assembly of Quelfes, which took place on the evening of Thursday, September 15th. Besides the three elected members, Eduardo Palminha, Teresa Teixeira, and Carlos Cabral, the party was represented in the audience by council leaders, city councilors, municipal deputies, and activists living in Quelfes.
In an extremely well attended session, there were not enough seats for the public, which also included residents and merchants of the Quelfes Road, who say they have been harmed by the construction work on this road that, having started in January, has not yet gone beyond the Patinha area.
Complaining that they had not even been notified about the beginning of the work, many questions were asked by merchants and residents to the President of the Junta, Miguel Dimas: “What is the work? How much longer is it expected to last? Where do we stand? Will the work continue? Seeing themselves losing customers day by day, due to the difficulties in accessing their businesses, the merchants took the opportunity to publicly express their desperation: “If I don’t work, I don’t win!”
Despite claiming to be “aware of all the situations” and assuming “the poor development of the work”, the President of the Council, elected by the PS, “shook his head” assuming himself powerless to solve what “is not within his competence” and referring all the answers to the Councilman responsible for Public Works, Ricardo Calé, since the responsibility of the work is the Municipality of Olhão and Ambiolhão.
“I have no answer to give people,” said Miguel Dimas, reiterating that he can do no more than he has been doing, listening to the people and conveying their problems to those in charge. “The work is to continue,” he added, without further details.
In the period before the agenda, Eduardo Palminha, PSD bench leader, spoke, providing more information, after having met with the councilman and the contractor on Thursday afternoon. “The PSD member said, accusing the council of “having done very little pressure to defend the interests of the parishioners”.
In a lengthy speech, Eduardo Palminha, who also leads a Committee of Residents and Traders of the Quelfes Road, which has already presented a petition to the Olhão City Council, named a list of situations that were not taken care of, revealing incompetence in the planning of this work. The PSD member stressed the lack of a parking lot, traffic and pedestrian crossing alternatives – namely for people with reduced mobility, the elderly, and baby strollers – garbage collection restrictions, and general safety conditions.
Informing those present that there are already stores closing, Eduardo Palminha considered that nothing has been done to minimize the damage to people and threatened to go to the last consequences, advancing with the possibility of filing a lawsuit against Olhão City Hall, “so that the merchants are compensated for the poor planning and delay in the works.
Considering the interminable state of the works and the non-existent information about the forecast for the end of the works – which reveals a total disrespect and lack of consideration for the residents and merchants – the Olhão PSD cannot but side with the population, accusing the PS municipal executive of incompetence in the planning of the requalification of the Quelfes Road.
Olhão, September 19, 2022