MP de Contas asks the government to suspend the delivery of basic food baskets and hire more firefighters to fight fires in RR | Roraima

The Public Ministry of Accounts of Roraima (MPC-RR) filed a complaint against the state government asking for the suspension of the distribution of basic food baskets and the installation of new animal drinking fountains to prioritize the hiring of firefighters to fight fires. The request was made this Wednesday (27) after the government announced actions to support the population affected by the drought.

The document, signed by accounting attorney Paulo Sérgio Oliveira de Souza, highlights that the objective is that the “Executive Branch concentrates public resources on hiring personnel and improving actions to combat fires“.

When contacted, the government of Roraima reported that it had not received any official notification and would only respond “after becoming aware of the content of the representation”. The TCE-RR, to whom the request was forwarded, said that it has not yet received the representation.

The representation highlights that the air concentration in Roraima is considered dangerous due to smoke, due to the 410% increase in fire areas in February this year alone, according to the document.

“What we need is respiratory air quality. The government is more concerned about water for animals than air quality for humans”, highlighted Paulo Sérgio.

The Attorney General requested the State Audit Court (TCE-RR) to determine:

• The immediate suspension of the distribution of basic food baskets, construction of drinking fountains and cleaning of bridge heads;
• That the bodies responsible for managing water resources and fighting fires adopt emergency and effective measures within 15 days;
• And carry out extraordinary inspections to determine the existence of irregularities and omissions in dealing with the drought crisis.

In the announcement, the government also presented an overview of the actions carried out against fires and drought, when it informed the request for resources from the general government in the amount of R$ 10.4 million. Part of this amount, R$ 6.6 millionwas received and used to purchase basic food baskets with distribution concentrated in the most affected municipalities and in emergency situations.

According to the representation, it was also requested R$1.9 million for water truck rental. Of this total, it was received R$351 thousand.

The government also reported the maintenance and construction of 182 drinking fountains for animals in March of this year and bridge cleaning but, according to the accounting attorney, he did not provide clarification on hiring brigade members in an emergency situation.

The MPC’s assessment is that “due to the very serious situation, the state’s population needs real and effective actions to alleviate the consequences of the fires”.

Among the measures suggested by the Public Ministry are the provision of masks in public places, drilling of artesian wells and construction of cisterns capable of capturing rainwater, distribution of drinking water through tanker trucks, supply of food and medicine to families in vulnerable situations.

It was also suggested the creation of a task force with the participation of bodies such as the Fire Department, Civil Defense and Ibama and awareness campaigns for the general public.

Roraima has been facing a dry period since October last year, which is expected to last until April. With the lack of rain, rivers have dried up and there are forest fires that consume houses, animals and vegetation.

The municipalities are: Amajari, Alto Alegre, Boa Vista, Cantá, Caracaraí, Caroebe, Iracema, Mucajaí, Pacaraima, Rorainópolis, Normandia, São João da Baliza, São Luiz and Uiramutã. Bonfim, in the North, is the only municipality that is not in a state of emergency.

To give you an idea, on a scale that goes from 0 to 160 µg/m3, a particulate material that can penetrate the lungs, reducing breathing capacity and even causing illnesses, the capital reached 334.5 µg/m3, at 6:36 pm this Sunday (24), according to Plataforma Selva.

The smoke comes from forest fires that occur in cities close to the capital and mainly in Guyana, a country that borders Roraima, and Suriname — although the state has many more fires than both countries.