THE Macau Government is wasting millions of dollars on frivolities while allowing expenditure on construction projects to soar, opposition groups have claimed.
The money would be better spent on education or social welfare in the enclave, said legislators and civic organisations.
Greater transparency in the Government's decision-making process and more accountability were called for by liberal legislator Mr Alexandre Ho Si-him, who was angry at the cavalier way he saw cash being spent on unnecessary projects.
The Associacao de Macau Novo (New Macau Association) has also joined the fight, contacting delegates at this week's Macau Mass Construction seminar in Lisbon to highlight cases where the final cost of projects far exceeded original estimates.
They included: The rebuilding of the Government Hospital, where the estimate cost increased from 200 million patacas to 800 million patacas; The Outer Harbour Maritime Terminal, scheduled for completion last year but still being built, with costs soaring from 30 million patacas to 800 million patacas; The new Taipa bridge, where estimates have risen from 372 million patacas to 640 million patacas; and The Macau International Airport, for which estimates have more than doubled from 3.5 billion patacas in 1989 to 7.3 billion patacas.
The association said the Government was losing the confidence of Macau people by the overspending and by its financial backing of the building of seven monuments to mark Sino-Portuguese friendship in the run-up to 1999.
