Africa-Press – Cape verde. The challenge was launched by this government official after presiding over the signing ceremony of the second addendum to the Partial Credit Guarantee System Protocol, which establishes the framework for the operationalization of the credit lines contained in the Economic Recovery Plan.
The document, amended by the protocol signed on April 1, 2022, defines the credit lines, types of credit and financial conditions agreed for eligible companies and projects, increasing interest rates to 3.5 percent (%) to 4.5%.
“I want to end with an appeal to the service level, which is the deadlines for responses. All of this is very beautiful, with important values, with interesting conditions, but I think we have to guarantee the conditions so that the level of service is excellent, which means that the answers must be given within the right time frame, whether on our side, from the State, as well as from the financial banking sector”, he pointed out.
Meanwhile, he explained that the global economic context is decreasing, with a tendency for a retraction in global growth with a rate of around 3.0% for 2024, inflation, prices have been increasing substantially, especially for essential goods , food products and energy goods and interest rates have been increasing substantially in recent years and months in international markets.
Given the context of global economic change, Cape Verde, as a small archipelagic island country, has been managing, learning and adapting to what is happening around it on a global scale.
On the other hand, he highlighted that Cape Verde’s economic governance framework is duly linked to the international context and everything that happens externally directly influences the national context.
Alignment with regard to interest rates is normal, not only by commercial banks, but above all by the Central Bank and monetary authority to preserve this framework of macroeconomic stability and it is very important that we work in line with the international context”, he said.
He said that for 2024, the Government will have a very strong investment plan that guarantees economic growth of around 5.0%, a reduction in the unemployment rate, inflation could be between 2.8% and 3%, at most, the public deficit is 2.8% to 2.9% and the public debt reaches 110% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Representing the banking sector, the president of the commercial executive board of Banco Comercial do Atlântico (BCA), Francisco Santos Silva, recalled that the level of non-compliance still remains a “concern” and is still high despite the positive evolution recorded in 2022.
“It is in this context that we are here today to formalize an addendum to the protocol signed between the State and the banks in April 2022, which as a result of the evolution of the economic and financial situation needed to be reviewed in order to be able to fulfill its aim of supporting the companies in the process of economic recovery”, he pointed out.
However, he assured that banks are available and committed to supporting the national economy, despite some opinions sometimes criticizing them.
In January 2022, the Government announced the creation of several lines of credit with interest rates not exceeding 3.5% and a 50% guarantee, for a global amount of nine million contos, destined for the private sector for the economic recovery in post-pandemic.
Of the nine billion contos, 30%, or 2.7 million contos, is intended to reinforce the treasury of companies that resorted to moratoriums, with a credit limit per company set at three months of December 2019 sales volume.
The other part, 70% corresponding to 6.3 million, is allocated to investment credit.
Five million are guaranteed by the pro-guarante’s partial credit guarantee fund and the lines of four million contos are guaranteed by the State.
The plan provides for specific credit lines with guarantees of up to 80% for agribusiness or agrarian economy, semi-industrial fishing, microfinance institutions, youth/ICT startups and micro entrepreneurship.
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