Africa-Press – Cape verde. Small business owners in Praça Estrela are questioning the delay in receiving the subsidy promised by the Government, following the damage caused by Storm Erin. In exclusive statements to Radio Morabeza, the merchants claim that the delay in disbursing the aid is hindering the normal resumption of their activities. Pro-Empresa promises a resolution by tomorrow.
Maria José Moreira criticizes the organization of the process and says that the business owners still lack clear information.
“We haven’t received what they promised yet. Pro-Empresa’s work was poorly done, poorly organized, because they made a mess, not trying to find out who actually suffered the greatest losses. They just kept giving ‘tra k panhá’ (a Brazilian slang term for bribes) and those who really work and lost their belongings still haven’t received anything. That’s an injustice,” she laments.
Similarly, Malick Gueye recalls the impact of the floods in Praça Estrela, stating that practically all vendors suffered losses to their merchandise.
“We have 140 stalls in Praça Estrela and most of them still haven’t received the subsidy. We remind you that Praça Estrela was one of the areas with the most damage in São Vicente. Our situation is among the worst and we are still waiting. They say it’s aid, and almost six months later, it’s no longer aid. If they’re not going to give the money, they should say so, and we’ll look for another solution. We all signed the contracts and nothing. The City Council was the one that exempted us from paying the rent,” she laments to Rádio Morabeza.
Maria de Lourdes Santos considers the delay unjustifiable, given that the damages were assessed some time ago.
“This delay is not justifiable, because there is support to be delivered and it should happen when needed. We thought the support would arrive immediately at that time, but now we are trying to manage things. I think we were disoriented by the storm, but they also started incorrectly, without any project or scale to verify. There were many people around here who received the help a long time ago, and we, who actually lost the goods inside Praça Estrela, were left fighting tooth and nail,” he denounces.
Contacted by Rádio Morabeza, without recording, Amílcar Morais, representative of Pró-Empresa in São Vicente, guarantees that the payments will be made between today and tomorrow. The entity assures that the situation at Praça Estrela is not an isolated case and that all payments will be made.
It is worth recalling that, following Storm Erin in São Vicente, in addition to credit lines, the Government approved a non-refundable grant for micro-entrepreneurs, with amounts between 150,000 and 300,000 escudos, to support the recovery from the damage caused by the rains of August 11, 2025.
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