The Cape Verdean prime minister assured on Tuesday 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.
Being aware that we are in a difficult and serious situation is important so that we can improve behaviours, attitudes and de facto assume the intervention, without prejudice to the Government assuming its responsibilities, because it has the responsibility of leading the process. , but it cannot be the only actor (…). It is important that we have this common front of action and at the level of our partners there are several ways to act and act”, said Ulisses Correia e Silva.
To intervene this morning at the opening of the National Emergency Forum of a Common Front to Confront and Overcome Crises, which is to be held at the Government Palace, at Praia, with the presence of social partners and representatives of civil society, or Prime Minister recalled what Cape Verde has been experiencing “a successive phase of crisis for some time now”.
Since 2016 practically. It has to do with the severe drought, which is closely linked to the extreme weather events caused by climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic and now the serious effects of the war in Ukraine and in a country like Cape Verde that has its vulnerabilities. An economy open to the world with strong exposure to external shocks, which makes us feel at much higher levels what the external effects are”, he explained, admitting that the country, which imports 80% of the food it consumes, has no way to adapt, in particular, to the effects of rising prices, while recovering from the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Data released by the Government of Cape Verde in June indicate that the total cost of implementing measures to mitigate the effects of the food and energy crisis, to contain the rise in prices in the archipelago, is 8.9 billion escudos (80.7 billion shields). ) at the end of this year.
And if the Government had not introduced price stabilization measures, we would have skyrocketing prices in families, in companies. This applies to energy, fuels, diesel, gasoline, gas, butane, electricity. What households and businesses feel is only part of the effect. Most of it is being absorbed and that absorption means costs, burdens and compensation for these burdens, in addition to the effects on food production, food products, food prices and food security”, stressed the head of government.
According to Ulisses Correia e Silva, the country has adopted the possible measures, such as the recent declaration of social and economic emergency, with clear objectives: “Have a very clear perception that we are in crisis. Global crisis and Cape Verde is part of the world, and receives the effects of this crisis, and having this awareness is important. First to be able to accommodate ourselves to our level of consumption. I speak of citizens, I speak of companies, I speak of organizations, of the situation. Second, this awareness also allows for an appreciation of the measures, an understanding of these measures,” he noted.
Then, he emphasized, support the mobilization of resources “with partners”, to provide “mitigation and protection” responses.
“And it is at this point that we understand that we must create a great common front of action so that we can raise awareness and we can increase the levels of action and solidarity and give the necessary responses,” he appealed, in a forum whose main objective is the construction of a “common platform of action” with Cape Verdean society.
“We have a very strong tendency here in Cape Verde that everything that happens is state and government responsibility. And life is not like that, situations are not like that and the more it is channeled into a single entity, the more problems we have to respond to. And it is necessary that this rendering of accounts, more than rendering of accounts, that this collective idea of response to action, be effectively understood, internalized”, said anda.
In a crisis with clear effects on prices and therefore “economic and social that can be much more onerous than the pandemic”, Ulisses Correia e Silva called for the participation of everyone, from Churches, associations and non-governmental organizations, as well as by the municipalities
“In the sense of taking actions that make, first, a very clear understanding of the situation. Put aside that very Cape Verdean thing of apportioning blame, which does not solve any problem. The fault line, if any, is where the war is taking place and who started that war, but let’s focus on the core of the responses we need to be efficient, effective and successful. And we have already shown that we can, and have, in relation to the pandemic,” he added.
“So I am ending this request for us to close ranks. We are in a position to do it. We have managed to do it in several other situations, we have centuries of resilience in this nation, but that is not enough to be able to provide the answers that we need. What we need is to look back at our resilience and take proactive action in response to what we need right now,” he appealed.
The country is still going through a deep economic crisis, after a recession of almost 15% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020, given the absence 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 .
Source: Observadora
