Africa-Press – Cape verde. The PAICV accused the government of negligence in ignoring explicit recommendations from 2016 studies, resulting in the silting of the port of Maio. According to Rosa Rocha, the government chose not to follow the alternative options proposed, which included additional works to the existing port or the construction of a new port in Pau Seco, a technically more recommendable location and with costs no higher than the first option.
PAICV deputy Rosa Rocha emphasized the importance of evaluating the performance of public policies and criticized the current government “for ignoring” technical recommendations in the studies she inherited in 2016.
The deputy also pointed to problems in the functionality of the port of Maio, which appeared on the day of its inauguration and have worsened recently due to the silting of the bay.
“It is particularly serious that your Government was, on several occasions, alerted by the opposition, but with the usual arrogant stance, ignored it,” said Rocha, who considered the government’s justifications of the problem as “unreasonable”.
In this sense, he cited the case of the Minister of the Sea, who claimed that environmental issues were not properly considered.
“In the case of the port of Maio, Mr. Minister Abrãao Vicente, your failure costs the country 20 million euros, that is, two million and two hundred thousand contos, using credit, literally thrown into the sea,” he accused.
Rosa Rocha asked the Minister of Infrastructure for explanations about several commitments that she claims were not fulfilled by the government, including projects such as the Cape Verde National Hospital and the construction of the Santo Antão International Airport.
“We hope that the minister will clarify, in a clear and objective way, when this Government will respond to the commitments ostensibly assumed, as time is running out and it will only have 2 years to implement them,” he concluded.
It should be noted that last week, due to the sand that the rough sea brought to the pier area, the transport of goods on that island was suspended, making the cost of living more expensive.
In reaction to this statement, MpD deputy José Eduardo Moreno argued that the government, especially MIOTH, has many works and positive aspects that can be presented instead of only presenting works with negative aspects as PAICV did.
“As we begin our intervention, it is important to highlight that all of the ministry’s initiatives are based on principles that we consider essential: legality, transparency, good management, resilience and efficiency.”
“These are principles that were not present in the past, such as, for example, the direct award of large-scale works, such as Boavista airport, the Fogo ring road and the Praia ring road, budgeted at around 3 million contos” , he exemplified.
The UCID criticized the government for the precarious infrastructure conditions in São Vicente and for the construction of infrastructure that does not meet the needs and expectations of the population. “Justify the decision-making by the Government that means that a recently built infrastructure is not up to the desires and challenges of the people in the environment,” criticized António Monteiro, suggesting that poor management and the lack of adequate planning are responsible for failures in public works.
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