Last Thursday (15), mayors of the Porto Alegre Metropolitan Region met at the General Assembly of the Association of Municipalities of the Porto Alegre Metropolitan Region (Granpal), held at Fazenda do Bosque, in Guaíba. Among the central topics discussed were health, education, land regularization and the possibility of implementing a new metropolitan lottery.
The president of the Granpal Consortium and mayor of Guaíba, Marcelo Maranata, reiterated the importance of demanding an additional R$39 million for health, resources promised by the state government through the Assistir program. This proposal aims to strengthen health services in the region, especially with the arrival of winter.
In addition, the expansion of a telemedicine project started in Portão was discussed. This project offers 1,000 monthly consultations through a partnership with Hospital Moinhos de Vento. The aim is to expand this initiative to other municipalities in the region, which will strengthen local medical care.
Later that week, a meeting is scheduled with Gilberto Barichello, president of Grupo Hospitalar Conceição (GHC). The objective is to discuss the restoration of the MAC ceiling, which is essential for the financing of medium and high complexity services.
Porto Alegre, which reconsidered transferring full management of these complexities to the State due to the lack of guarantees, continues to seek solutions to critical health issues, such as the crisis currently faced by the municipality of Canoas.
Creation of a metropolitan lottery
In addition to the health debates, the creation of a metropolitan lottery was discussed. The idea is for each city to draft a bill to define the destination of the funds obtained. The cities will be able to allocate the funds to areas such as transportation, health and infrastructure, according to local needs.
Maranata explained that the mayors welcomed this proposal, which aims to make the award more attractive. In addition, a trip to Argentina is planned, with the aim of learning about a similar model that already exists in the country, which could serve as inspiration and an example for the implementation of the local project.
The mayors’ agenda also includes a trip to Chile in the first half of the year. They received the invitation from CMPC, a pulp company with one of the largest private operations in the state.
These meetings and proposals reflect the managers’ commitment to seeking innovative and effective solutions to the challenges faced by the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre.
