Africa-Press – Cape verde. The PAICV deputies elected by the São Vicente circle today expressed themselves “concerned” with the administration of the Cape Verdean Institute for Children and Adolescents (ICCA) on the island, which, they pointed out, has shown “clear signs of misgovernment” and “debts very high.”
This concern was expressed today, at a press conference, by deputy Josina Freitas, in reaction to statements by the Secretary of State for Social Inclusion, Lídia Lima, who said she had invited the national elected representatives of São Vicente to check out the projects that the Government has for the ICCA delegation on the island.
According to the elected member of the Cape Verde African Independence Party (PAICV, opposition), her party’s deputies did not receive any formal invitation from the government official to visit the ICCA facilities in São Vicente.
However, he reinforced that the statements he had made in parliament about the state of the institution “are true” because “they reflect the reality of the facts observed”.
“We highlight our concern with the ICCA administration in São Vicente, which has shown clear signs of mismanagement. The high turnover of delegates at the institution in recent years is a worrying indication of the instability and challenges faced that require immediate attention and corrective measures”, accused the parliamentarian.
According to Josina Freitas, the current financial situation of ICCA is also worrying, which has accumulated a “very large debt” with food suppliers, a practice that “was not common before”.
“First there were debts that were being hidden, no one was talking, not the Secretary of State, not the minister himself, but when confronted, in the last parliamentary session, the minister ended up assuming that they exist and that they are being negotiated ”, stated the same source, reinforcing that the ICCA reports, which are public, prove the debts.
Another concern, he added, is the Government’s decision to include social reintegration in that space.
“There is a lot of discussion about this, also taking into account that they do not welcome children. We were very worried about the institute. What we want to believe is that the Government has at least requested a study from technicians in the area to find out what this may or may not cause”, said the deputy, for whom the ICCA in São Vicente “was once a model of infrastructure”, but today it presents “a picture of abandonment and neglect”.
“There was a computer and multipurpose room fully equipped with computers, internet, projector, air conditioning that served children and the community. And today, we would like to know what happened to that room. There were fully equipped electrical and carpentry workshops and they were dismantled”, he concluded.
On the morning of Wednesday, 17th, the Secretary of State for Social Inclusion, Lísia Lima, visited the ICCA facilities in São Vicente, on which occasion she announced the approval of a budget of around 12 thousand contos, coming from Fundo Mais, to rehabilitate the institute’s facilities.
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