Africa-Press – Cape verde. The Government has established a set of management measures applicable to program contracts signed with municipalities within the scope of the use of funds financed by the 2021-2025 Environmental Investment Guidelines.
According to information released in the Official Gazette on Friday, the 18th, it is necessary to finalize the outstanding issues related to program contracts from the previous cycle and conclude the management of the Environmental Fund allocated to municipalities.
For the Government, in addition to defining and implementing criteria valid for all municipalities, it is also necessary to address the consequences of non-execution of the allocated funds, as well as to ensure the compatibility of the fund’s management with the annual planning and approval of the General State Budget (OE).
Among the measures, the Government announced that once projects are completed, and funds are fully disbursed and justified, and do not require any financial measures, the respective program contracts must be formally terminated.
For completed projects, with funds fully disbursed and not fully justified, municipalities have fifteen days to submit the corresponding supporting documents to the Environment Fund.
For ongoing projects, with funds fully or partially disbursed, and partially justified, municipalities must complete the projects within two months or submit the schedule for the resumption and execution of works to the Environment Fund within five business days.
The same decision also includes ongoing projects, with funds not fully disbursed and partially justified, in which municipalities must complete the projects within two months or submit the funds to the fund within five days.
The law establishes that municipalities that do not comply with the stipulations will be restricted from accessing disbursements under the 2025-2026 Environmental Investment Directives until the situation is regularized.
According to the Government, the mobilization of financial resources and their distribution in the water and sanitation sectors for the 2021-2025 period will amount to 4,178,064,750 escudos, with municipalities receiving the corresponding 60%, as provided for in Decree-Law No. 59/2020 of August 5, which approves the Statutes of the Environmental Fund.
Of this amount, it emphasized, 1,889,410,518 escudos was contracted for the 2021-2024 period, earmarked for projects within the water and sanitation sectors, prioritizing actions aimed at sustainability and improving sanitary conditions.
The amount executed by the municipalities, so far, is 1,029,161,527 escudos, of the total contracted, with the value of 860,248,983 escudos still to be finalized.
For More News And Analysis About Cape verde Follow Africa-Press
