“As a member of the Government, I will be very encouraging for municipalities, parishes, and councils, especially taking into account that with this local electoral process, many new officials will come to power due to term limits. It is important to make them aware that civil protection is a crucial area within their responsibilities,” stated Rui Rocha in an interview.
Highlighting that the mayor is the ultimate authority for civil protection in the council, he expressed regret over this area’s frequent lack of recognition.
Rui Rocha emphasized that the better prepared a council is to handle civil protection incidents, “the more at ease it will be in its municipal management responsibilities.”
“I understand that resources are limited everywhere, both in the Government and in local authorities, but it’s about making decisive choices. Many times, of course, this year has been atypical, we noticed that local authorities spent over 32% more on artists,” he said.
In this instance, the Secretary of State, a former mayor of Ansião (Leiria), suggested that municipalities “could spend a bit less and invest a bit more in civil protection.”
According to the official, local authority involvement is key in the ‘Safe Village, Safe People’ program, established in 2018 to safeguard population clusters in wildfire risk zones. However, not all villages have benefited from it yet.
Rui Rocha lamented the initial enthusiasm for the program in 2018 and 2019, which subsequently waned.
“Currently, we have 2,384 clusters with the ‘Safe Village’ project. Initial years showed more growth, and this will be highlighted when I meet with the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities,” he said, pointing out that some positive outcomes during this year’s fires were due to villages having implemented the ‘Safe Village’ project.
He emphasized that although the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) administers this program, its initiation should come from the municipalities.
“But this has to be initiated by local authorities, whether parishes or municipalities. All support [from ANEPC] involves signage, training, and other available resources, but it must begin locally. The authority cannot simply impose or decide which village will have a ‘Safe Village’ project,” he stated.
Speaking about the program’s importance, he explained that residents of these villages gain essential knowledge and procedures for handling fire emergencies.
“If we’re certain there’s a program providing training tools so people know: I’ll lock up my house and meet at the churchyard where all villagers will be. This greatly assists those managing on-the-ground operations, ensuring people are accounted for,” he noted.
