Telmo Pinto took a public stance on these two issues, arguing that Algar, rather than paying dividends, should invest the three million euros in improving services.

The mayor also lamented the “constant failures in street lighting” on the part of E-Redes.

In a statement issued by the council, Telmo Pinto expressed his “dissatisfaction with the poor quality of services provided by Algar and E-Redes in the municipality”, which is having a “direct negative impact on citizens’ lives”.

Algar, as the body responsible for waste collection and treatment in the Algarve, “decided to distribute dividends worth three million euros to shareholders, despite the vote against by the 16 Algarve municipalities”, the council highlighted.

Telmo Pinto stated that “this sum should be reinvested in the company to fund the necessary improvements to the service provided to the public” and emphasised that it is the local authorities who deal with the public on a daily basis and must “use the resources of the parishes and councils to carry out the work for which they are responsible.

The Loulé Council alone “pays the company around €6 million a year for a loss-making service”, he explained, adding that the council pays the same amount to E-Redes, whilst “there are serious failings in the management of the electricity network and the service provided has regressed 30 years” due to the problems experienced with the power supply.

“We continue to face months on end of no street lighting and repeated breakdowns. It is also a terrible service provided to the public,” he stressed, noting that E-Redes “is now re-entering the new tender for energy management in the Algarve, covering both low and medium voltage”.

The Mayor of Loulé, therefore, called on companies to improve their services.

“It is my duty, in the role I hold, to defend the interests of our residents. That is why I was elected, and we will not accept our residents’ resources continuing to be mismanaged by organisations that fail to fulfil their purpose,” he concluded.