In his first statements to journalists as the newly elected president of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP), Pedro Pimpão emphasized the need for more decentralized areas from the central administration and a local finance law with enhanced financial mechanisms to address the increased responsibilities of the municipalities.
“The government has committed to forming a working group to review the local finance law. We recognize the complexity of this issue, and it will take time, but we want to participate actively, contribute proposals to strengthen the financial capacity of municipalities,” he stated.
Pimpão highlighted the importance of understanding the actual costs of the municipalities’ competencies and updating the amounts transferred by the central administration, enabling consideration of different areas.
“We, Portuguese municipalities, with our degree of responsibility, are ready to discuss with the Government new areas where we can assume responsibilities,” he added.
“There is, for instance, the management of the road network where municipalities can play a larger role, but all these areas associated with the decentralization process must be accompanied by the respective financial package. We won’t forgo this,” he underlined, noting the need for resources for municipalities to fulfill their duties with dignity.
The ANMP demands the effective functioning of the monitoring committees in this decentralization process, assessing the competencies and costs to ensure an annual review and update of the values associated with each competence.
The reform of the municipal electoral law to ensure stability for local governments and improve local governance, along with the revision of elected officials’ statutes for better working conditions, are significant issues requiring parliamentary approval, Pimpão noted.
Pimpão, also the mayor of Pombal, mentioned the strengthening of the Regional Coordination and Development Commissions, intermunicipal communities, and metropolitan areas as a path to continue, in response to questions about regionalization. This topic has been a recurrent subject in ANMP Congresses and was again advocated by several mayors in Viana do Castelo as necessary.
“Why? Because in a highly centralized country like ours, all mechanisms that empower territories should naturally be evaluated,” he justified, emphasizing that as ANMP president, his role is to contribute to this national discussion focused on understanding which mechanism should be further developed to promote territorial cohesion.
Hundreds of municipal leaders are gathering today and Sunday in a congress in Viana do Castelo, following local elections, to elect ANMP’s new leaders and discuss the most relevant issues for municipalities in the coming years, including autonomy, decentralization, local financing, sustainability, and territorial cohesion.
Today, the first topic under discussion is “Autonomy and Decentralization.” On Sunday, the mayor of Loures, Ricardo Leão, will bring to the debate “Local Financing,” given that a new local finance law is one of the main demands of the mayors.
On the same day, Francisco Lopes, mayor of Lamego, will lead the discussion on “Sustainability and Cohesion.”
On Sunday afternoon, the resolution of the XXVII ANMP Congress, with the main conclusions and commitments for the next term, will be debated and then voted on.
