The PS/Azores Parliamentary Group today considered that disinvestment and a lack of support from the regional government caused the closure of the Azorean Road Association (PRA).
Marlene Damião, a Socialist MP, explained that “the truth is that, since the coalition government has been in office, the drastic reduction in support granted has led to serious difficulties in the activity of this Association”.
For the MP, the closure of an organization that—over the years—has played a fundamental role in raising awareness of road safety and prevention is a clear setback in this area, and she regrets that the government is absolving itself of the whole process.
“This isn’t just the closure of any association, but the end of a central and specialized partner of the regional government of the Azores in this field, so it’s not acceptable that the Azorean executive, in addition to having contributed to this situation when it began imposing cuts in support for its operation, has done nothing to prevent this outcome,” she lamented.
“With this closure, a vacuum is created in terms of road awareness, as well as the training of young moped riders under the age of 16, and the job of the only person trained in the Azores to administer the training of young moped riders is extinguished, thus devaluing the work done for more than 25 years in the Autonomous Region of the Azores,” she stressed.
Marlene Damião also said that “this situation harms all the islands of the Azores, calling into question pre-registrations that already existed on the islands of São Miguel, Santa Maria, Terceira, São Jorge and Faial and leaving Azorean parents with young children with no alternative, forcing them to travel to the national territory so that they can get their license.”
According to the Azorean MP, “the Socialist Party regrets the fact that the Regional Government devalues the relevant work carried out by this Association, as well as ignoring PRA’s effective efforts to prepare young Azoreans aged 14 to 16 for safe driving,” she concluded.

From Press Release

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.