The budget deficit, the growth of public debt and poor management, combined with impunity, are mortgaging the country’s development, warned on Wednesday, August 6, Jorge Matine, coordination leader of the Budget Monitoring Forum Committee (FMO) and executive director of the Citizen Observatory for Health.
Speaking at the Annual Conference on Access to Public Services, during the panel on “Public Service Delivery and the State Budget,” Jorge Matine criticized the absence of a culture of accountability and described the effects of the economic recession on reducing funding to key sectors, such as education and health.
According to Matine, the shortage of resources, often caused by mismanagement and the lack of effective political strategies, is reflected in the current stage of weak development, in which the State Budget ultimately penalizes the social services that should be a priority.
“The State Budget should not be the ‘farm’ of the corrupt where they take money for their personal purposes. We need governments that set an example by holding their politicians accountable when they fail to fulfill their duties,” stated Jorge Matine, also criticizing the tendency to increase the cost of living through the imposition of higher prices and fees, especially in public services, whose impact is felt most heavily by ordinary citizens.
Matine criticized the absence of a culture of accountability within the State apparatus.
“Another major problem is the rising cost of public services, in terms of prices and fees for access, which contributes to the exclusion of citizens and the increase in inequalities. This model represents an indirect privatization of public services — the State behaves like a company charging for essential services without ensuring any guarantees in quality, coverage or accessibility. In practice, those with fewer resources end up being doubly penalized: without access to services and excluded from opportunities to improve their lives,” reinforced the FMO coordinator.
Echoing the criticism of impunity, Judge Vitalina Papadakis argued that magistrates must participate actively, without fear, in holding politicians involved in corruption scandals accountable.
“The judge must understand that they work for the people, and therefore their actions must be for the common good. Judges must be responsible enough to take part in the fight against impunity, judging anyone,” she said.
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament and lawyer Elísio de Sousa defended the need for “a serious debate to create conditions that allow for cost reductions, particularly court fees, which, despite the need for the State’s self-financing, constitute a major obstacle to universal access to justice.”
In turn, the executive director of the Foundation for Community Development (FDC), Diogo Milagre, stressed the importance of promoting a culture of accountability, reinforcing the teaching of ethics and integrity.
Source: Diário Económico
