Faro council has announced that it is now able to pay off its remaining suppliers as it successfully has drawn down the final tranche of a government loan made under the Support to the Local Economy Programme.
€3.2 million can now be used to pay off many long-suffering suppliers and the council’s president Rogério Bacalhau wanted to pass on his thanks to all those companies and associations "that have had to wait for so many years for the regularisation of these invoices,” adding that things are a lot better now that he is in charge, the admin and management are especially improved.
Faro’s ratepayers may not be too impressed that the accounts left by former mayor Macário Correia necessitated a loan from the government of €16.7 million which the council will be paying back at the rate of a million a year until 2034.
Bacalhau added, "Accordingly, and as it should be, the municipality is obliged to have well balanced accounts, must be cautious and rigourous in its financial management and must only make commitments that are within its authority and in full awareness of the fact that it has mortgaged our futures for many years."
With the future "severely restricted" the municipality will ensure that "it no longer takes on any acquisition or contract without a guarantee that there is money there for full payment."
This of course is one of the law changes imposed on all councils, rather than a Bacalhau special promise to the electorate.
This process "brings transparency in the relationship between the council and our local suppliers, who know that their invoices will be settled within the law, within 90 days."
This welcome statement sums up what Faro and many other of the Algarve’s councils should have been doing all along.
The General Directorate of Local Authorities produces a list of councils in the country that are 90 days or more behind with their payments, with Portimão currently taking 1,975 days to settle it bills. Faro in comparison is the new poster boy for the swift payers' club.
"At the end of this process, financial credibility with our suppliers, associations and banks finally has been restored, suppliers can deal with the council with confidence,” concluded Bacalhau's exhaustive statement.
