The outgoing Deputy Ombudsman of Santa Casa de Lisboa, Ana Vitória Azevedo, this Wednesday accused Minister Maria do Rosario Ramalho of “saying things that are not true” when she said that the sacked administration had withdrawn benefits for herself .
“I know, and it even shocks me, that the Santa Casa Council did not receive any benefit for itself, and I would like the minister to explain what this benefit was,” Ana Vitória Azevedo said during a hearing in the Parliamentary Working Committee social security. and inclusion.
In an interview with RTP on Tuesday, Labor, Solidarity and Social Security Minister Maria do Rosario Ramalho said that most Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML) workers receive the minimum wage, while managers’ salaries are much higher. higher.
“Those at the table [da SCML] They were even increased, we were surprised. (…) They won themselves,” the minister criticized.
In front of committee members, in an attempt to “get inside the head of the minister,” the outgoing deputy ombudsman admitted that Maria do Rosario Ramalho’s argument was based on “raising the status of the public manager,” a responsibility from the government and not from Santa Casa.
“Santa Casa’s compensation is directly tied to his status as a public manager. But what is the benefit?” he asked, noting that if this was the minister’s reasoning, then this is the explanation.
“If the minister is talking about raising the status of public managers, I think it is not serious,” he added, calling it “serious” that the minister understands what indexation will lead to as a benefit.
Ana Vitória Azevedo noted that the minister “has every right to want to change the administration of Santa Casa”, but stressed that “she does not have the right to tell lies and in any way slander the people who are there.” “.
According to the former director, it is not certain that the administration of Ana Jorge did nothing to restructure the financial restructuring of the institution, noting that despite the absence of a restructuring plan, “the work was carried out.”
He also stressed that, contrary to what the Minister of Labor said in an interview with RTP, that 18 administrators were fired, 40 people lost their service commissions, resulting in savings of one million euros.
Regarding the internationalization of social games, Ana Azevedo denies responsibility, noting that this project has already been implemented since 2019 and that when she joined Santa Casa in 2021, she was responsible for the legacy.
Subsequently, with the arrival of Ana Jorge as SCML Provider, in May 2023, Ana Azevedo becomes Deputy Provider.
The person in charge, who sent her resignation to current minister Maria do Rosario Ramalho on March 28, said she warned the previous provider Edmundo Martinho several times about the risks of internationalization.
“I was against the careless implementation of the project,” said the person in charge, noting that she reported this to both the supplier and then-Labor Minister Ana Mendes Godinho.
He added that his position stemmed from the risks of the market itself, the difficulty of hiring management teams that could provide effective local governance, and the scale of investment “barely compatible” with the “difficult financial situation of Santa Casa, which was already alive at the time “
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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