Africa-Press – Cape verde. Authorities are preparing a reconstruction plan for São Vicente following the damage caused by Storm Erin on August 11th, the MpD (Minute Party of Democratic Movement) assured the island Monday night during the “Plenary” program on Rádio Morabeza. Meanwhile, the PAICV (National Congress of the Democratic Movement) and the UCID (National Congress of the Democratic Movement) criticize the slow response to the disaster and believe that the island should have a reconstruction plan in place a month later.
Representing the ruling party, José Carlos da Luz explained that the document is in the drafting phase and should include long-term structural interventions.
“It’s a plan that will be developed in a multidisciplinary manner. And the City Hall, and the President, as an agency, are already working on this, so that we can provide the necessary responses for the reconstruction of São Vicente Island. Final reconstruction must include drainage works, sustainable roads, housing, and strengthening climate resilience. We had already approved a new PDM at City Hall, which is a management tool that will enable urban construction, but it must also include further dredging of the dikes and planning for stormwater drainage. This entire effort involves environmental and urban drainage, so that we can respond to future disasters of this nature that may eventually occur,” he says.
The PAICV advocates the need to intensify interventions on the ground to ensure a possible return to normality. António Duarte believes that a reconstruction plan should already be completed, with priorities defined for key sectors and including profound reforms at all levels, to transform this process into an opportunity for sustainable and resilient development.
“Our road network needs to be redesigned, reinforced, and rebuilt. Our water supply and sewage infrastructure, our sewage network, needs to be redesigned. We need to quickly move forward with the fourth phase of Mindelo’s health plan, coordinated with the urban plans currently underway at City Hall. We need to strengthen the City Hall’s technical office, fire department, and civil protection. In terms of sports infrastructure, we need to consider a completely new stadium. As for cultural infrastructure, a concert hall for 1,000 people.
On the UCID side, Anilton Andrade believes the response has been slow and lacks strategic vision and a sense of public service. The Christian Democrat representative also advocates for greater coordination.
“Immediately, as an emergency measure, we would like to see real support for the families who suffered damage on various levels, followed by the rehabilitation of infrastructure, water and public energy networks, road clearing, and public cleaning, all of which should be more urgent.” Next, more structural, in-depth measures must come into play, which must be implemented with good coordination, so that São Vicente can truly recover from this serious calamity,” he believes.
Another issue raised during the debate concerns the Municipal Master Plan. José Carlos da Luz, of the MpD, stated that the City Council has already approved the opening of a competition for the development of the Master Plan and that the municipality is now working in collaboration with the National Institute of Territorial Management and the Ministry of Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Housing (MIOTH) to secure funding for the document, which will be prepared through a public competition.
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