Africa-Press – Cape verde. The announcement was made today by the Prime Minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, at the opening of the conference cycle to present the priorities for the State Budget for the economic year 2024 (OE 2024).
The MAIS Fund, created at the end of 2021 and operational in 2023, aims to “ eliminate extreme poverty ” through the reinforcement of “social policies to protect vulnerable groups”.
The head of Government said that the budget for next year is strong in income policy, active employment policy and social inclusion.
“ Special attention continues to be given to children and people with disabilities through care and the protection and realization of rights. The Mais Fund will increase from 95 thousand contos in 2023 to 560 thousand contos in 2024, reinforcing the Government’s commitment to eradicating extreme poverty ,” said Ulisses Correia e Silva.
The head of the Cape Verdean executive also said that OE 2024 foresees an increase in the number of Social Pension beneficiaries and an increase in the number of Social Inclusion Income beneficiaries, which will increase from 2,166 families in 2023 to 9,229 families in 2024”, he pointed out. .
He also added that the next budget increases the amount for the evacuation of patients from the non-contributory regime by another 80 thousand contos, which will reach 420 thousand contos in 2024.
On the other hand, he added that contributory pensions will be updated from 1% to 2.8%, with higher percentages for the lower pension brackets.
The Government will maintain measures that have an impact on family income, access to education, health and water and energy, such as subsidizing pre-school education, exemption from tuition fees, exemption from the health moderating fee, the increase in discounts on the social tariff for water and energy from 30 to 50% and the reduction of VAT on electricity and water from 15 to 8%.
According to the Prime Minister, OE 2024 continues investment in the rehabilitation of houses, the construction of social houses and facilitating access to water and sanitation for the poorest families.
Ulisses Correia e Silva recalled that the minimum wage in the public sector will increase to 16 thousand escudos and in the private sector to 15 thousand escudos, with the salaries of Public Administration employees expected to register an update of 3% in 2024.
Strong investments will also be made in terms of training and training young people, said the prime minister.
In the coming days, the Government will hold a cycle of conferences with the participation of ministers so that Cape Verdeans can be informed about the options, policies and investments planned for the coming years.
For now, Ulisses Correia e Silva highlighted that it is “a good realistic budget, focused on the recovery and dynamization of the economy, family income and inclusion, training, qualification and employability of young people and local development” .
Cape Verde’s State Budget for 2024, with the exact value of 85,948,752 206 escudos, has as its main pillars the search for economic stability, the promotion of reforms and investments to create jobs and the commitment to protecting the most vulnerable, aiming sustainable development and social cohesion in the country. The Week with Inforpress
For More News And Analysis About Cape verde Follow Africa-Press
