Nuno Melo alleges Carneiro of dishonesty and attributes the delayed acquisition of Canadair aircraft to PS

In a recent interview on SIC Notícias' "Facto Político" programme, Defense Minister Nuno Melo accused the Socialist Party (PS) of obstructing the purchase of Canadair aircraft for wildfire fighting.

According to the Minister, the Executive of Luís Montenegro unlocked the purchase of the Canadair, which the PS had previously refused. Nuno Melo claimed that the PS did not want the Canadair due to operational costs.

This year, 21 contracts with eight companies of aerial means for fighting fires have been signed, with an estimated cost exceeding 86 million euros. The Minister defends that the PSD has done more this year to prevent fires than the PS has done in a decade.

The discussion revolves around the failure in fighting wildfires and the purchase of Canadair aircraft for that purpose. Nuno Melo showed a document pointing to a 2015 protocol between the Portuguese Air Force and the National Civil Protection Authority for the Canadair purchase.

However, suspicions of corruption and price-fixing in rental contracts for aerial means recur in some of the companies involved, such as Helibravo, one of the companies that the Judicial Police is investigating for alleged bid-rigging. The companies under investigation, including Helibravo, were previously prohibited from participating in state tenders for nine months by a court.

The Minister of Defense also accused José Luís Carneiro of lying about the purchase of Canadair aircraft. Nuno Melo claims that it was the Executive of Luís Montenegro that authorized the procurement of the Canadair, which the PS had rejected.

The Minister of Agriculture and Nuno Melo, the Minister of Defense, both allege that the PSD has done more in a year and a half to combat wildfires than the PS governments have done in eight years. The search results do not provide information on the name of the executive who authorized the procurement of the Canadair aircraft that the PS rejected.

The Judicial Police is investigating some companies involved in the aerial means contracts for alleged bid-rigging. The protocol for the Canadair purchase was signed by the government of Passos Coelho. The secretary-general of the PS, according to Nuno Melo, has said that the Canadair were an option for a PS government, but this is claimed to be false.

Meanwhile, the Público newspaper advances that these 21 contracts were signed with various aerial means companies. The discussion about the failure in fighting wildfires and the purchase of Canadair aircraft for that purpose continues.

Nuno Melo alleges Carneiro of dishonesty and attributes the delayed acquisition of Canadair aircraft to PS