The Algarve councils that cover the lower Guadiana area have decided that a bit of cooperation might save them time and money.
The Alcoutim mayor, Osvaldo Gonçalves, said that the three municipalities, which have already a joint group called Odiana, are likely to benefit from shared project management.
Gonçalves said that a pilot project signed between the Government and the municipalities of Alcoutim, Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António can promote delegation and decentralisation in areas such as spatial planning, but added a word of warning, the three mayors still had to agree or nothing would be resolved.
"There are three partners and all decisions must be accepted unanimously," said Gonçalves who is keen for the three councils to take advantage of shared technical know-how and equipment but stressed that cooperation will only be possible when there are "clear benefits for municipalities" and as long as "skills are not lost."
On 13 May, 2015 Vila Real de Santo António council announced that it had signed up for the deal sponsored by the government to cooperate with Alcoutim and Castro Marim. The agreement will empower Odiana to run pilot projects to share skills
The president of Vila Real de Santo António, Luís Gomes, said that this is a "very important and historic agreement" since this "is the first time that municipalities will be able to share management in areas such as "spatial planning, culture, tourism and solid waste," and gain from economies of scale.
The mayor said that municipalities are also working on a shared healthcare project suggested by the government project which, if it works, can be replicated elsewhere in the country.
The Mayor of Castro Marim, Francisco Amaral, said the agreement can be implemented in areas where "there are benefits for the three municipalities" and gave as an example the construction of a new municipal kennel that all three councils need and which Odiana can plan and construct under the new agreement.
The Castro Marim mayor said this was a smart move on the part of the three councils.
The €3 million grant from the Government certainly should engender a hitherto unheard of degree of cooperation.
