Brava Town Hall has still not received the money promised by the government for the reconstruction of the Nova Sintra Shopping Center
The mayor of Brava, Amândio Brito, said that the municipality has still not received the 7,350 escudos promised by the government to rebuild the Nova Sintra Shopping Center, destroyed by a fire in March. The council is waiting for the money to start the work and rehouse the affected traders, many of whom are still exposed to the rain. Part of the damage is being repaired with the help of emigrants, pending a solution from the government in the next few days.
The mayor of Brava, Amândio Brito, clarified this Thursday that the municipality has still not received the 7,350 escudos promised by the government to repair the damage caused by the fire that destroyed the Nova Sintra shopping center last March.
In statements to Inforpress, the mayor said that although the Council of Ministers approved a resolution on May 21 to transfer the money, the municipality is still waiting for the transfer to go ahead with the rehabilitation work on the space.
"We have already met with those affected and explained that the process is formalized, but we depend on the government making the funds available," said Amândio Brito.
According to the mayor, the situation of the families and businesses affected is critical, especially as the rainy season approaches. "Most of them are practically out in the open, exposed to the weather and unable to resume their activities. We want to bring them back to the shopping center, but to do that we need to restore the building," he said.
Once again, the council has been in contact with government officials in an attempt to speed up the process. According to Amândio Brito, the Directorate General for Planning, Budget and Management (DGPOG) has informed him that, next Monday, it will liaise with the Ministry of Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Housing (MIOTH) to unblock the funds.
"We are hopeful that we will have good news next week. At the same time, we're using some of the aid sent by migrants to cover the part of the building that was damaged," added the president.
The Prime Minister had announced that 7,350 escudos would be made available to deal with the damage. Of this total, six thousand escudos would be earmarked for the reconstruction of the shopping center and 1,350 escudos for direct support to the families affected, according to the nominal list contained in the approved resolution.
It should be remembered that the fire occurred in the early hours of March 26 and totally destroyed ten stores in the center of Nova Sintra, causing heavy damage to local traders.
