The mayor of Mação, one of the six municipalities that founded the company Tejo Ambiente, announced this Wednesday, November 25, that he will resign as president of the general assembly of that intermunicipal company. The reasons are related to “disagreement” with regard to the management and pursuit of investments in Mação, alluding to the mayor that there has been objectively investments in other municipalities, namely Ourém and Tomar, which hold the administration.
“I do not feel well that it is the Municipality of Mação and its president to preside over the General Assembly, where the share capital of that company is gathered, when I disagree in this specific case, due to the way things are being managed in relation to the municipality of Mação ”, admitted the mayor.
Vasco Estrela said that he transmitted to the administration and mayors of the company Tejo Ambiente at the end of this Wednesday morning that he will resign from the presidency of the General Assembly.
Audio: Vasco Estrela in statements after the announcement of the resignation, during the Chamber meeting this Wednesday. “I have a letter that should come out between today and tomorrow, to formalize this decision,” said the mayor.
Asked about the reasons that support the decision, Vasco Estrela said that it has to do “with the way things are going with regard to decisions that were taken in relation to investments in the municipality of Mação, the postponement of those investments and the decisions that they are trying to have them taken and that go against what were the assumptions that presided over our accession ”, he explains.
The mayor says that although the final decision regarding the investments and interventions planned for Mação is not known, “it was not what we were counting on”.
“This intention alone does not make me satisfied, I have already passed it on to my colleagues several times”, he stressed.
Vasco Estrela mentioned not forgetting to be part of a company made by six municipalities, being there as president of the Municipal Council to “also defend the interests” of the municipality he presides over.
“I am in solidarity with others, I think that others should also be in solidarity with the municipality of Mação and with its president. And I don’t think they are, ”he said.
Regarding the responses by the Board of Directors of Tejo Ambiente regarding investments in Mação, the mayor says they are scarce and note, objectively, that investments are taking place in other municipalities, namely in those with the company’s management: Ourém and Tomar.
“[As respostas] they are almost none, they say that things are being seen and being dealt with. But the concrete and objective data is that we go through newspapers, through social networks, and we see investments in other municipalities and not in the municipality of Mação. More than that, there are not even any decisions, after all these months, regarding what were structural and important investments for the municipality of Mação ”.
Vasco Estrela also said that it is common ground that “contrary to what may be rehearsed in terms of discourse, let it be said that the municipality of Mação could be in great need of Tejo Ambiente’s investments… of the two: either that was not true , or the managers who are there do not know what they are doing. If the need for the municipality of Mação was so great, why are they doing it elsewhere? Something doesn’t quite work. Or was it that the others were probably even more in need than we were? ”
On the other hand, I wanted to make it clear that “if we were in need more than others, then it is a terrible act of management to do first those who had less needs”.
Vasco Estrela said that, despite his position and dismissal, he is not “calling into question personal issues” or the “relationship with colleagues” that make up the company and its management.
“They defend the interests of their municipalities, I defend mine. I think that all together we should defend those from Tejo Ambiente. Whether this is what is happening or not … each one who does his / her self-analysis and judgments about it ”, he said.
The mayor says that “there is no possible discussion” when it comes to “concrete and objective data”. “Look at the investments that have been made so far in the councils of the members of the Board of Directors of Tejo Ambiente and see in others. And draw your conclusions ”, he concluded.
It is recalled that Tejo Ambiente has been responsible since June 1 for the management of public water supply systems, wastewater sanitation and collection of undifferentiated urban solid waste in the six adhering municipalities, where Mação joins Sardoal, Vila Nova da Barquinha, Ferreira do Zêzere, Tomar and Ourém (these last two holders of the company’s headquarters and administration).
Tejo Ambiente aims to “privilege relationships of trust and innovation with the respective users, as well as services in a more efficient and environmentally sustainable way”.
It should be noted that the Board of Directors of the intermunicipal company is chaired by Anabela Freitas, president of CM Tomar, Luís Albuquerque, president of CM Ourém, and Jacinto Flores, president of CM Ferreira do Zêzere.
Vasco Estrela, for CM Mação, chairs the General Assembly together with Fernando Freire, president of CM Vila Nova da Barquinha and Miguel Borges, president of CM Sardoal.
The company has a share capital of 600 thousand euros and the municipalities of Tomar and Ourém have the largest stakes (with 35.63% and 32.37%, respectively), followed by Mação (10.85%), Ferreira do Zêzere (7.94%), Vila Nova da Barquinha (7.63%) and Sardoal (5.58%).
Ourém and Tomar municipalities are expected to receive investments in the next decades in the order of 33.8 and 33.4 ME, respectively, followed by Mação (17.7 ME), Ferreira do Zêzere (13.5) , Vila Nova da Barquinha (8.7 ME) and Sardoal (5.5 ME).
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Mação complains about the failures of Tejo Ambiente and the lack of expected benefits from joining
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