Africa-Press – Cape verde. The leader of the MpD parliamentary group, Celso Ribeiro, stated this Wednesday that Cape Verde, after ten years of governance by the party led by Ulisses Correia e Silva, is more stable, inclusive, and prepared for future challenges.
Celso Ribeiro made these statements during a debate with the Prime Minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, on the 10 years of governance by the Movement for Democracy (MpD), scheduled at the proposal of the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV – opposition).
In his speech, he emphasized that governing means recognizing achievements and facing challenges with clarity, highlighting that since 2016 Cape Verde has become a resilient, upper-middle-income country with confidence in the future.
“In 2016, we inherited an extremely delicate situation, with economic growth below 1%, high unemployment, and unsustainable public debt, and it was on this legacy that we began a new cycle of governance with vision, determination, and resilience,” he stated. The parliamentarian listed a series of economic, social, and institutional achievements, highlighting the robust growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the reduction of unemployment to 7.5%, the decrease in absolute and extreme poverty, and the improvement in the economic climate and investor confidence.
“We managed to lift more than 62,000 Cape Verdeans out of absolute poverty and more than 11,000 out of extreme poverty, with inclusion and equality policies, guaranteeing social income, pensions, and access to basic services for thousands of families,” said Celso Ribeiro.
The MpD leader also emphasized the international recognition of the country’s progress, citing the improvement of Cape Verde’s rating to B+ by Standard & Poor’s and the GDP growth estimated by the International Monetary Fund.
Celso Ribeiro pointed out that economic growth was supported by structural reforms and investments in strategic sectors, such as tourism, agriculture, the maritime economy, digital transformation, culture, and the creative industry, always with the private sector as the central driver of development.
The parliamentarian also highlighted the Government’s attention to social protection, education, and health, including the implementation of the Young Women’s Bank, the expansion of the Social Inclusion Income, support for more than 90,000 students with school meals, scholarships, materials, and school transport, as well as improvements in health centers and primary care services.
“We faced global and national crises with determination, transforming challenges into growth and economic stability,” he stated, arguing that, despite persistent inequalities and challenges, the country is on the right path towards an even more inclusive and sustainable future.
In the final part of his speech, the parliamentary leader of the MpD emphasized his party’s confidence in Ulisses Correia e Silva and took the opportunity to attack the stance of the largest opposition party.
“The PAICV chose to attack, devalue, and misinform; the MpD chose to govern. They speak of war, we work for social peace,” concluded Celso Ribeiro, asserting that the Cape Verdean people will know how to distinguish “who is building and who only wants power for power’s sake.”
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