Africa-Press – Cape verde. Paulo Veiga is the name indicated to replace João Gomes in the leadership of the Parliamentary Group of the MpD and Luís Carlos Silva should be the next secretary general of the party. There will also be changes in the executive of Ulisses Correia e Silva, in October, following the meeting of the National Directorate of Fans.
The MpD will start the new political year with profound changes in its Parliamentary Group, as well as in the party structure, A NAÇÃO has learned.
There will, therefore, be changes in the government cast, as it seems, from 1 October, the date of the meeting of the National Directorate of that party, which has two items on the agenda: political, economic and social situation in the country and the choice of a new secretary general.
Consensus around Paulo Veiga
Deputy Paulo Veiga, who, in November last year, resigned as Minister of the Sea, following the defeat of Carlos Veiga in the 2021 presidential elections, is the consensual name to assume the leadership of the MpD in the elections scheduled for the 29th of this month.
This parliamentarian who is seen as close to Orlando Dias, candidate for the leadership of the MpD in the direct ones that should take place in the first quarter of 2023, will replace João Gomes who, in less than two years as leader of the majority bench, has been the target of strong internal criticism.
In addition, issues related to his health will have dictated the premature departure of this deputy, elected by the São Vicente circle, from the leadership of the fan bench.
They should accompany Paulo Veiga in the new “front line” of the MpD Parliamentary Group, Celso Ribeiro, Euclides de Siva and Vanusa Barbosa. However, doubts persist regarding the names of Mircéa Delgado Rocha and Ângela Gomes to compose this direction. Mircéa is also appointed to the position of president of the first commission. For now, Euclides de Pina is the only one who moves from the previous direction of the majority bench.
The NAÇÃO knows, however, that the name of Paulo Veiga for the leadership of the MpD bench was consensual at a dinner with some deputies, many of them supporters of Orlando Dias, in a restaurant, in Platô, on the closing day of the Parliamentary year, 20 July.
According to one of the participants, at that dinner “there was an intruder who spilled the beans and, the very next day, Ulisses called Paulo Veiga to invite him to the post”.
But to make this solution viable, UCS had to remove Emanuel Barbosa from Parliament, offering him the head of the newly created Competition Authority. Keeping this deputy from the diaspora would be “unbearable” in the current situation, taking into account the fact that he lost by just one vote in the dispute with João Gomes.
new secretary general
A certain “amorphism” of the party, which has been accused of having abandoned the bases, will be at the origin of the choice of a new secretary general of the MpD.
Luís Carlos Silva, who has stood out in Parliament, will take his place. This choice is also seen as a way of keeping deputy “busy”, taking into account that, with the “fall” of João Gomes, he also leaves the leadership of the MpD Parliamentary Group.
This change is also seen as a way of introducing greater dynamics to the action of the party secretariat, taking into account that the current secretary general, Filomena Delgado, will not have achieved this purpose since replacing Miguel Monteiro in office.
As the next electoral cycle approaches, it is understood that someone with a more combative profile is better to respond to opposition criticism at the party level, that is, outside Parliament.
Changes in the Government
The changes that the MpD will introduce in the party and in its Parliamentary Group point to a change in the Government, in the first days of October.
With the caution that this type of forecast imposes, given the “casmurro” profile of Ulisses Correia e Silva, it is almost certain that most secretaries of state will fall, as well as some ministers who are not deputies. The strategy of dealing only with ministers who are not deputies is aimed at avoiding “pouting” in Parliament by the “remodeled”.
Thus, as a way of responding to the criticism of having a “fat” executive, UCS will begin by cutting back on the secretaries of State. As far as THE NATION was able to ascertain, only one will remain in the Government.
In relation to the ministers, behind the scenes of the MpD circulate the names of Carlos Monteiro, Alexandre Monteiro, Eunice Silva, Arlindo do Rosário and, eventually, Amadeu Cruz, as “remodelable”. Some should be placed in other roles, namely embassies. Both Eurico Monteiro (Lisbon) and Jorge Figueiredo (Luanda) will have already expired.
Olavo Correia in the hot seat
According to a well-positioned source, the prime minister should reduce his government cast, reinforcing, on the other hand, the powers of ministers in the economic and social areas, freeing them from the “shackles” of the deputy prime minister.
Speaking of the second man in the Government, there is a strong current in the MpD that believes that the PM should force Olavo Correia to “put the ball down” in order to focus on the essentials.
“The uneasiness between the members of the government and the VPM is all too evident, taking into account that it intervenes in all spheres of the government area, often managing the actions of the various ministers who are unable to make their own decisions in the areas they are in charge of. ” described our source.
A party activist who has already held government functions stated that “the absence of results in several areas that Olavo Correia called to his jurisdiction is evident, such as the cases of business development, customs and privatizations”.
Our interlocutor also considers that “the PM cannot continue to ignore the voices within the party and the Government that complain against the excessive protagonism of Olavo Correia and the evident lack of results”.
By order
With an eventual governmental remodeling, UCS will have to issue new directives to the governance in the sense of imprinting a greater dynamic in the economic sector that has many projects and processes stuck.
According to our interlocutor, “privatization is not progressing, maritime and air transport are a pity. The concession to the ETE Group turned out to be a fiasco, no one is monitoring the contract and the five promised ships are yet to arrive and in the air domain, the privatization of TACV, displayed with pomp and circumstance, only served for the Icelanders to rent their planes at prohibitive prices” .
Furthermore, he continues, “businessmen continue to criticize the excess of bureaucracy and the absence of responses from customs, small and medium-sized companies that are asphyxiated by debts are unable to access the much-publicized funds due to the required guarantees”.
And finally, “companies in the digital area complain about the fierce competition from NOSi and the fact that large works are delivered to Portuguese companies instead of cv startups”. In other words, “the Government has two speeches, it says that it wants to encourage cv start-ups, but it is still Portuguese companies in the area of digitization to pick up the best contracts”.
In addition, disbelief and fatigue, even among the fans, seem to have taken over the country. Sectors considered essential – air and maritime transport – is what is known. The creation of jobs, urban security, happiness for all, it seems that covid has devoured everything.
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