Africa-Press – Cape verde. The PAICV today criticized the MpD’s stance following the searches carried out by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Praia City Council, accusing it of trying to condition and influence the investigations, ignoring “relevant” issues raised to the Environment and Tourism Funds between 2017 and 2020.
At a press conference, Julião Varela said that the searches cover the period from 2016 to 2020, during Óscar Santos’ management, and are based on two audit reports carried out in 2018 and published in 2022 by the Ministry of Finance.
These reports, as I said, highlighted facts that constitute harmful management of public resources, which could result in civil and criminal liabilities.
Furthermore, the searches also extend to the period from 2020 to 2024, based on a letter from a former employee of the Praia City Council. However, Julião Varela emphasizes that to date, there has been no audit of the facts reported in this letter.
“The MpD says that these searches were delayed and the PAICV agrees. In fact, the accounts for 2010, 2011 and 2012, the period in which the current Prime Minister was President of the Chamber, were not approved by the Court of Auditors and until now no one has said anything about them and no consequences are known”, he pointed out.
For the secretary general of PAICV, it is worrying how the MpD has handled the investigations, stating that the party is trying to influence and condition the investigations in a biased and malicious way.
“It is still strange and worrying that following the searches, the MpD delivers its sentence, judges in the public square, tries to condition and influence investigations in a biased and malicious attitude, focusing only on the questions in the search relating to the management of Francisco Carvalho reported. in a letter, without any audit and the necessary contradiction and ignoring the most relevant part of these searches, which has to do with the facts brought in the audit reports carried out by the Ministry of Finance itself, to the Environment and Tourism Funds between 2017 and 2020”, he accused.
According to the PAICV, the CMP, led at the time by Óscar Santos, was the municipality that committed the most irregularities and illegalities in the management of projects with money from the Tourism and Environment Funds.
These irregularities, he continued, include irregular contracts, violation of legal procedures, abusive use of direct award and simulation of public procurement procedures.
“Regarding the financing of projects “not provided for in the Directive”, the inspection states that the value of the contracts concluded is higher by 16,800 million escudos, the amount of the contract signed with the Câmara da Praia, in the time of Óscar Santos, for financing of the drainage work between Avenida Cidade Lisboa and the mouth of Ribeira de Gamboa”, he said.
Varela mentioned the need for citizens to monitor the situation and be alert to possible maneuvers by the Government and the MpD that could threaten democracy and people’s physical integrity.
It should be noted that last Thursday, the 9th, the CMP was the target of searches by the Public Ministry and the targets were the current mayor and some councilors, as well as the former mayor.
The operation, which took place in the CMP Town Hall, in Plateau, and in the Financial and Patrimonial Department of the municipality, in the Treasury, and also in the office of the company Construção Barreto, SA, aimed at seizing documents, papers, money and other objects related to the ongoing investigation.
Following this, the current president of Praia City Council, Francisco Carvalho, stated that his management is focused on transparency and that there is no theft or corruption in his mandate.
The former mayor, and current governor of the Bank of Cape Verde, Óscar Santos, also said he was available to collaborate with the Public Ministry’s investigation into works under his municipal mandate.
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