Brava: Cement shortage hampers works on the island – according to contractors

Speaking to the press, Idial Louro, contractor, complained that the island is receiving a small amount of cement, which is not enough to supply everyone in the municipality, however, he also highlighted that the works are limited and the workers without working, putting their families’ livelihoods at risk.

According to this contractor, normally seven to eight thousand bags of cement are sent, but this time only two thousand bags were sent and, therefore, only people who had paid for the goods in advance were able to do so.

“This is disrespectful towards the people of Brava, we want to know if the fault lies with the company Cimpor or the island’s distribution company, however, we wanted to appeal for this problem to be resolved as quickly as possible, as we have many works in delay” , appealed.

Idial Louro also informed that due to lack of options and in order not to delay work, they usually buy broken cement that is sold by the same company, but weighs less than a bag that comes from the factory.

“We have no problem buying broken cement, but we also demand that the weight must be the same as the factory bags that contain fifty kilos, as they usually fill with ten or fifteen kilos less and we are the ones who are harmed”, he highlighted.

Hence, he suggested that it would be advisable for the company to weigh the product so as not to harm the work or the owners, since the broken cement is of lower quality.

Likewise, António Alves, another contractor, corroborates the same opinion, considering this situation “very complicated”, as, in addition to the price, the shortage also greatly harms the sector, conditioning the work of contractors who are often forced to reduce the number of workers.

Contacted by Inforpress to clarify the reason for the cement shortage, the owner of the company Dina Vicente, which supplies cement in Brava, declined to make any statements.

Inforpress