Africa-Press – Cape verde. The Cape Verdean President today asked for the position of the Court of Auditors and the General Inspectorate of Finance following the controversy over the first lady’s salary, whose benefits will be suspended.
According to Lusa, the decision came after a controversy generated in the country over a salary of 300 thousand escudos (2,720 euros) of the first lady, Débora Carvalho.
The Presidency had already issued a statement, stating that the first lady ” under the terms of the law, the same salary status that she had in her original position, which is the minimum that is guaranteed to any professional outside her original position: maintenance than I already had .”
Today, in a communication to the country, the President of the Republic, José Maria Neves, announced that he will “ request the Court of Auditors and the General Inspectorate of Finance for their statement on the matter, and in particular questions of legality that may arise ”.
As he explained, if it is understood that there will be some amount to replace, “ it will be done immediately ”.
The head of state said he took the initiative to “immediately suspend the processing of the first lady’s salaries, the use of transport, security and other perks until these matters are definitively and fully regulated by law, in line with the rest of what is stated in the proposal for a new organic law of the Presidency of the Republic” that was submitted to the Government.
” Taking due account of the uproar now generated over this matter, regardless of the form, the moment, the motivations with which it was brought to public opinion, I understand that the President of the Republic cannot and should not have doubts about the honesty with that carries out its functions “, maintained Lusa. See below
Communication to the Nation from the President of the Republic
It is necessary for me to address the Cape Verdean Nation in the present circumstances, always faithful to the framework of direct dialogue that I have always maintained, eye to eye, with Cape Verdeans and Cape Verdeans.
And I begin by remembering and highlighting the following: throughout my public service career, and most especially now in the exercise of the highest Judiciary of the Republic, I have been guided by compliance with the Constitution, the observance of legality and the guarantee of transparency in actions I perform.
In a very unequivocal way, in all these years, I have never sought or facilitated benefits for my family, namely my mother, my two sisters, Débora or my children.
It is in this context that, with all serenity, I want to refer today to the issue of the First Lady’s salary.
Shortly after my inauguration as President of the Republic, we talked about the situation of the First Lady, Débora Katiza Carvalho, and concluded that her stay at the company CV-Móvel would, from an ethical point of view, be incompatible with her new condition. and the resulting volume of commitments within the scope of a social agenda and institutional representation that we wanted to be intense.
This is what we anticipated and this is how it has actually been, as, in fact, society has been able to monitor and evaluate it. It would, therefore, be more appropriate for the position of First Lady to take place full-time. It would, ultimately, be more beneficial for the Presidency of the Republic and more loyal to the company.
And that is why the request was made to CV-Móvel and the First Lady began to be in the Presidency under a special leave regime.
Thus, he started working in the First Lady’s work space, a space that already existed and continued to operate in the same location and with the same name: ‘Office of the First Lady’; now has the Spouse Support Office of the President of the Republic, created, since 2007, by the Organic Law of the Presidency of the Republic and which is staffed by employees seconded from the Civil House; began to enjoy security and means of travel, as was always guaranteed to the First Ladies in Cape Verde, although this is not established in any law. This is a practice that was consolidated and was taken over by the State.
Furthermore, she began to receive remuneration equivalent to those she already had in her original position, with the aim of not harming her as a citizen and professional. It is, in fact, this framework of protection that the law guarantees to those who, through mobility mechanisms, are displaced from their framework.
From the outset, we wanted all aspects relating to the First Lady to be clarified, which is why we included very clear legal-administrative provisions in the proposal for a new Organic Law of the Presidency of the Republic that we submitted to the Government in May 2022.
In the same vein, and assuming that this diploma was approved as quickly as previous diplomas relating to the Presidency of the Republic were approved, the necessary financial support for the salary and other implications was safeguarded in the Budget of the Presidency of the Republic for the year 2023 finances from the full-time role of First Lady. As we know, the Budget of the Presidency of the Republic is an integral part of the State Budget approved by Parliament, being previously discussed and arbitrated between the Presidency of the Republic and the Government, specifically the Ministry of Finance.
It is important to clarify that the First Lady made other trips abroad, as part of her Dretu Foundation, but these trips were not funded by the public treasury.
Taking due account of the uproar now generated around this matter, and regardless of the form, the moment and the motivations with which it was brought to public opinion, I understand that the President of the Republic cannot and should not have doubts about the honesty with which carries out its functions, which is why I decided to act in the following direction and which I wish to communicate to the Nation, directly:
– first, ask the Court of Auditors and the General Inspectorate of Finance for their statement on the matter, and in particular questions of legality that may arise. At the end of this assessment, if it is understood that there will be some amount to be replaced, this will obviously be done immediately;
– second, and in the meantime, immediately suspend the processing of salaries to the First Lady;
– third, immediately suspend the use of transport, security and other benefits until these matters are definitively and fully regulated by law, in line with the rest of what is contained in the proposal for a new Organic Law of the Presidency of the Republic that we submitted to the Government.
In the meantime, the First Lady will be using our private vehicle and will continue to work in her Office at the President’s Palace and at the headquarters of the Dretu Foundation, defending the causes she has always believed in and carrying out, with the same dedication and sense of solidarity , actions to benefit Cape Verdean society in general.
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