International donations received by Cape Verde fell by 55.3% until April, compared to the same period in 2021, to 1.9 million euros, well below the Government’s forecast, indicate data from the Ministry of Finance compiled this Tuesday by Lusa.
According to a budget execution report from January to April 2022, these transfers imply food aid, direct donations and support from governments or international organizations. In four months, these transfers amounted to 206 million escudos (1.89 million euros), equivalent to only 5.2% of the budget budgeted by the Government as a forecast for the entire year 2022, which indicated receiving support higher than the 3,982 million euros. shields (36 million euros).
The Prime Minister of Cape Verde, Ulisses Correia e Silva, assured that the State has absorbed the main impacts of the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, but called for a national “common front” and “close ranks” to respond to the consequences, again asking for international support.
The country is still experiencing deep economic crisisafter a recession of almost 15% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020, given the lack of tourism caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, a sector that guarantees 25% of GDP and employment.
The Cape Verdean economy grew by 7% in 2021, driven by the resumption of tourism demand, and forecasts a growth of 6% in 2022, a projection that has since been revised to 4%, due to the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine .
These donations and budget aids are fundamentally destined to support programs to strengthen health and primary education, the generation of employment, professional training, support for the informal sector and the implementation of programs to strengthen family income, in the face of the impacts of the Covid-19 in the archipelago.
The amount collected by Cape Verde with these transfers until April is compared to the donations received in the first quarter of 2021, which then amounted to 462 million escudos (4.2 million euros), which represents a drop of 55 million. euros, 3% within a year.
This support received by Cape Verde has already fell almost 24% in 2021, compared to the previous year, to 3,984 million shields (36 million euros), indicate the data from the Ministry of Finance previously reported by Lusa. This performance also compares with the 5,223 million escudos (47.2 million euros) in transfers received by Cape Verde throughout 2020.
This is a drop of 23.7% in year-on-year terms, which in turn is compared to a period already with the international effects of the Covid-19 pandemic that the report of the Ministry of Finance on the budget execution of 2021 justifies with “several factors”, specifically with the forecast at the end of 2020 of the support funds, in response to the covid-19 pandemic, or the “decrease in food aid”, from less than almost 8%, to 97.8 million escudos (885 thousand euros).
According to previous data from the Ministry of Finance, the country received in 2018, with transfers of international donations, 2,575 million shields (23.2 million euros), a value that shot up to 6,238 million shields (56.4 million euros). ) in 2019.
In 2020, this value fell to 5,224 million shields (47.2 million euros), according to the same report from the Ministry of Finance, which refers to an execution rate of 61%.
Source: Observadora
