A statement released today by the President of COFAP, Chega deputy Rui Afonso, announced the decision to request the Secretary-General of the Assembly of the Republic to open a competitive procedure after consulting the “coordinators of the main parliamentary groups represented” on the commission.
The four positions are designated for “candidates with ties to the public service,” as stated by Rui Afonso in the statement.
Filling the three technical positions and one Coordinator position at UTAO will expand the team supporting deputies on financial and budgetary matters from four to eight members.
The commission’s president stated that this reinforcement aims to “address the chronic shortage of human resources, which has overburdened the current team in fulfilling a demanding work schedule” and to “enhance a unit of vital importance in supporting the works” of the Budget, Finance, and Public Administration Committee.
The decision to restrict the procedure to candidates already in public service is due to the imperative choice not to further burden the state’s personnel framework.
Rui Afonso advocates for launching a competition for the UTAO coordination position instead of a direct appointment by COFAP, deeming it a “highly technical and specialized role.” He emphasizes that “academic and professional qualifications, know-how, analytical skills, leadership and management abilities, independence, impartiality, ethical rigor, resilience, and a sense of public mission should prevail over any other criteria, preferences, or affiliations, whether political, personal, ideological, or otherwise, thus elevating meritocracy.”
Established in November 2006, after its creation in August of the same year, UTAO operates under the guidance of the permanent parliamentary committee on budgetary and financial matters, providing support through the preparation of studies and technical work documents on public budgetary and financial management, according to the Law on the Organization and Operation of the Services of the Assembly of the Republic.
The UTAO coordination position became vacant with Rui Baleiras’s departure, who was selected by Luis Montenegro’s first government to serve as the Vice-President of the Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority (ASF).
The appointment occurred on April 10 through a resolution by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, with Rui Baleiras’s name proposed by the Minister of State and Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento.
