Africa-Press – Cape verde. The Secretary of State for Finance, Arlindo Mota, foresees the growth of the material scope and complexity of regulation in Cape Verde with the implementation of the ongoing privatization, concessions and sub-concessions agenda.
The government official was speaking at the opening of the international conference on the theme “privatizations and regulation”, promoted, this Friday afternoon, in the city of Praia by the law firms Menezes, Leite & Associados (MLA – Cape Verde) and Sérvulo & Associados of Portugal, within the scope of a partnership protocol between the two offices.
After welcoming the conference, Alcindo Mota highlighted that the regulation function guarantees the existence of conditions that allow the demand for services to be met efficiently, but also to ensure the economic and financial balance of regulated service providers.
“Independent regulation must be able to continue to reconcile apparently antagonistic interests between both the State and citizens and companies, correct market failures, normally associated with situations that justify the existence of natural monopolies”, he argued
. , although competition in symmetrical market contexts normally generates social well-being, it can encourage opportunistic practices, especially when the intensity of competitiveness increases, requiring special attention from regulators and other entities, namely the Competition Authority.
Alcindo Mota also added that regulation has a preponderant role to play in creating a context of predictability, transparency and lasting trust, essential for investment and business, but also for the consumer or user.
“For all of this, the material scope and complexity of regulation should grow with the implementation of the new agenda of privatization of public-private partnerships, concessions and licensing of public services that constitute instruments, par excellence, of financing for the development of sectors such as tourism, the blue economy, air transport, renewable energy, the digital economy and industry”, he explained.
As he explained, it is up to the regulatory entities, prior to the government’s decision, to issue opinions on the attribution of concessions and draft tender programs, specifications and respective concession contracts, on authorization of the assignment, sale or encumbrance of concessions.
Regulation also has a say in the termination or modification of concession contracts, also in relation to possible situations of “hijacking or rescue” of the concession.
The expansion of the business fabric is, in the government official’s opinion, another aspect that will increase the complexity of regulation, since, as he argued, more companies mean more businesses and more competition that require more regulation.
“The material environment and the complexity of regulation will grow with the increase in demand, for example, for electrical energy, the entry of new operators in the production of renewable energy, the expansion of access to water and sanitation and the entry of new operators in more diverse areas of activity. As well as the development of the digital economy”, he added.
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