“It is unacceptable that, in the face of yet another case raising serious doubts about public management, responsibilities are shirked with insinuations or silence. When the management of a company, majority-owned by the Oeiras City Hall, is in question, it is legitimate to demand transparency, clear explanations, and above all, political accountability,” stated the candidate on her social media platforms.
The socialist candidate emphasized that, “unfortunately, this is not a new situation” and that “those who have been in power for decades cannot continue to feign surprise whenever suspicions arise.”
“Once again, the name of #Oeiras is associated with investigations for suspected corruption. Oeiras and its residents, as well as its workers, do not deserve this label, nor should they bear this burden, seeing their municipality involved in alleged mismanagement of public resources, which belong to everyone,” declared the former PS deputy and former Secretary of State for Inclusion.
Ana Sofia Antunes also highlighted the “history of cases involving the municipality, with suspicions of serious crimes such as corruption, misconduct, or economic participation in business, contributing to the erosion of trust and discredit of local politics among citizens.”
“I trust the actions of Justice and hope that the process proceeds swiftly, determining responsibilities rigorously and impartially. It is essential that this situation does not disrupt the normal functioning of the municipality nor harm projects and services vital to community life,” she said.
“The future of Oeiras should be built on transparency, responsibility, and respect for public interests — and that is the commitment I make with the people of Oeiras,” she added.
The Polícia Judiciária (PJ) conducted searches on Thursday at the Oeiras (Lisbon) and Grândola (Setúbal) city halls and in tourism sector companies, for alleged misconduct or corruption, economic participation in business and abuse of power, and violation of urban regulations.
The searches are related to the investigation into “possible crimes of misconduct, passive corruption, active corruption, economic participation in business, abuse of power, and violation of urban regulations,” according to a statement.
“These proceedings aimed to collect documentary evidence for the development and conclusion of ongoing investigations as soon as possible,” the PJ added.
The Mayor of Oeiras informed journalists that the PJ searches at the municipality pertain to dealings between the municipal company Municípia and the Mozambique Government regarding cartography and land registration work in Nampula, concerning which reports of alleged irregularities in the company’s management surfaced two years ago.
According to the mayor, following those reports and complaints about potential illegalities that reached Oeiras City Hall, the municipality itself “commissioned an external audit, which was presented to the City Hall and the Municipal Assembly” about six months ago.
The audit, according to the mayor, concluded “that while there were some formal irregularities, from a substantial point of view, there was no illegality.”
Meanwhile, CNN reported searches at the municipality of Grândola for violation of urban regulations in the Herdade da Comporta area.
