“We are analyzing, we will contact people, and we will see, but it is important not to make hasty decisions, especially because, as I say, many of these people would end up not having the house assigned because it was only an allocation and everything had to be confirmed,” said Carlos Moedas (PSD), referring to the lottery of the 29th Accessible Rent Program (PRA) contest, which was prematurely conducted on Monday and consequently annulled.
The mayor of Lisbon made the remarks on the sidelines of the inauguration of the extension of the 731 bus route operated by the Lisbon municipal company Carris, which has been extended in the neighboring municipality of Loures, now reaching Sacavém instead of stopping at Portela.
Questioned about a group of people who considered themselves harmed by the error in the municipal housing lottery and are thus preparing a legal action against the city council, the social democrat asserted that he would examine the cases, including the most serious ones, to “try to resolve” and avoid legal proceedings.
“I will try to resolve things in a humane way, as I always do,” he explained.
Regarding the annulled lottery of the 29th PRA contest, conducted a day earlier than scheduled and set to be repeated this afternoon, the mayor reiterated that “there was human error” on the part of one of the municipal employees who, “unintentionally, on a day he was already somewhat tired, pressed a button that, subsequently, triggered something illegal, because the contest has to be conducted publicly,” he added.
The municipal director of Housing at Lisbon City Hall clarified today that the lottery of 133 dwellings under the Accessible Rent Program was conducted prematurely due to “human error” and was therefore annulled “in less than 24 hours”.
Regarding the communication of housing allocation in the context of the annulled lottery, Carlos Moedas emphasized that “those houses were allocated, not assigned, because when these emails are sent, then all the documentation of the people has to be checked,” adding that “many of them end up not being assigned.”
“I will carefully review all cases, it is something I will do politically,” he stressed.
Concerning the lottery mechanism, which takes place on the ‘Habitar Lisboa’ online platform, the mayor explained that the error could have occurred at any time, including in the previous term, because “nothing changed” in terms of the certification of house allocation, notably the algorithm, assuring that the process “is completely transparent”.
“It is legitimate for people to feel disappointed, but many of them immediately found it strange and consequently said, ‘but is this really the case,’ because [the lottery] was not public, and in 24 hours, the city’s response was: indeed, there was an error; this was not public, therefore, it is not legal,” he stated, after being asked whether he endorsed the statements by the municipal director of Housing, Marta Sotto Maior, who said that the affected citizens deserve an apology, “but nothing more than this.”
Assuming the error and seeking to protect municipal workers, the mayor declared that “there was no bad intention here; an error was made and immediately corrected,” he stated.
Carlos Moedas also assured that the city council will conduct any necessary audits, emphasizing that it was “a human error” by a worker with 30 years of service at the city hall, “who has always done this, and that day had a fault.”
“It happens to everyone, and therefore we must have the ability, the humanity to forgive that error, correct it, and do things as they should be done,” he argued.
In this regard, the councilor for Housing, Filipa Roseta (PSD), ordered the opening of an internal investigation, which began on June 17 and will last for 30 days, and decided, on June 20, to launch a public procedure to hire an external entity to certify the house allocation lotteries.
On Wednesday, the city council unanimously approved the PS proposal for “an external and independent audit” of the 29th PRA contest process.
Leia Também: Câmara de Lisboa aprova auditoria externa ao sorteio de casas municipais
