“According to the most recent figures, it is estimated that around 400 children do not have a spot in daycare in the Azores,” stated Francisco César in a press release from the party.
The socialist leader, who met this morning with the board of Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Madalena on Pico Island, noted that in that Azorean municipality “there is a waiting list with 22 children.”
“This is a serious and real problem in the lives of families that cannot continue to be ignored,” he asserted.
After mentioning the efforts of institutions like Private Institutions of Social Solidarity, Santas Casas da Misericórdia, and private entities “that have done everything in their power to provide a response,” Francisco César warned that “there are no miracles when infrastructures do not expand and the [Regional] Government does not invest.”
He also pointed out that despite more than 2 million euros being allocated in the Region’s Budget and Investment Plan for daycare investment, “the execution rate is only 12% according to the latest known data.”
This means that “for every 100 euros that the [Regional] Government has available to invest in daycares, it spends only 12. The rest are promises that remain unfulfilled,” he observed.
The leader of the PS/Açores also recalled that the party has put forward concrete proposals to solve the problem of the lack of daycare spots in the Azorean archipelago.
“We proposed the construction and expansion of daycares, increasing the number of childminders, and maximizing the use of existing infrastructures, but these proposals were either rejected or simply did not materialize,” he indicated.
For Francisco César, the explanation lies in the “management incapacity and evident financial fragility” of the coalition executive, whose consequences “directly affect people’s lives.”
In his opinion, solving the problem does not involve “removing children from daycares so that others can take their place.”
He argued that “building is necessary to resolve,” but the current Regional Government, “unfortunately, does everything except solve problems.”
“This year, in this municipality [Madalena], there were more births than the previous year, and what should have happened is an increase in public investment, but the only increase we see is in promises and investment on paper. This is a Government with 100% promises and 0% fulfillment,” he concluded.
