Traffic lights: Haddad "displeased" with Kassab's negligence.

247 – On Tuesday the 19th, the day after another heavy rain in the city of São Paulo, more than 150 traffic lights were still malfunctioning in the morning, requiring an extra effort from the Traffic Engineering Company (CET), especially at intersections, in order to avoid traffic accidents. According to the mayor of São Paulo, Fernando Haddad (PT), this is a legacy from his predecessor, Gilberto Kassab (PSD) – the first one he mentioned at the start of his administration.

"I am outraged by the situation and requested a report detailing the entire problem. And what I found, even through photographs, is that the traffic light system in the city of São Paulo is in poor condition," protested Haddad. "Imagine if you lived in a house without a roof and with a completely unreliable electrical system. Every time it rained, the power would go out. That's what's happening with our traffic lights," he added.

Now that the subject has been brought up, the Workers' Party member took the opportunity to promise a "first-world" system to replace the current one, which in his opinion is "dilapidated." He explained that he was forced to buy replacement parts because the maintenance contract stipulated that this material should be supplied by CET (São Paulo's traffic engineering company). However, the company had no stock. "You enter a year with the intense rains we are experiencing, and CET didn't have stock to replace equipment," said the mayor.

Starting this Wednesday, the city hall announces it will begin a bidding process for the purchase of materials such as interconnected circuits, voltage regulators, electronic capacitors, fuses, lamps, and switches, with a potential value of up to R$ 1 million. A company will also be contracted to perform maintenance on 270 intersections in the city center. According to the mayor, there is a lack of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) in the traffic lights – equipment that allows them to function even without electricity.

Through his press office, Kassab responded that he "applauds the decision of Fernando Haddad's administration to continue investing in the traffic light revitalization program in the city of São Paulo and the modernization of CET (São Paulo's traffic engineering company)." He says he has invested more than R$ 50 million in CTAs (Area Traffic Control Centers), responsible for controlling the city's traffic lights.

First problem

This was the first problem that Haddad claims was left by the mismanagement of the previous administration. However, another case has begun to be resolved in recent days. The company Controlar, whose hiring led the State Public Prosecutor's Office to file a complaint against Kassab after finding irregularities in the bidding process, is no longer the monopoly on vehicle inspection services in the capital of São Paulo – a position it had held since Paulo Maluf's administration – according to... decided this Tuesday the new mayor.