Africa-Press – Cape verde. The Porto Novo Municipal Council today deemed the statements made by the president of the MpD Municipal Committee, accusing the mayor of blocking the process within the framework of the response plan to the damage caused by Storm Erin, to be “completely false”.
In a press release, the municipality stated that the mayor, Elisa Pinheiro, “from the very beginning”, has guided her actions by “responsibility, transparency, seriousness and commitment, advocating dialogue with the Government”.
“From the outset, the municipal council made it clear that the resource management model adopted by the Government to respond to the damage caused by Storm Erin does not serve and has not served the interests of the municipality of Porto Novo,” the municipality clarified.
For the council, the model, which “removes the municipal council from the entire process of transferring and applying the funds”, calls into question “municipal oversight, proximity management and the principles of efficiency and effectiveness in public administration”.
“Those who truly know the needs and priorities of the people of Porto Novo are its municipal executive, which was democratically elected,” the city council team believes, adding that its position “has always been clear in defending the real interests of the municipality and the needs of families.”
The statement reaffirms that, since the publication in the Official Gazette of resolution no. 91/2025, of September 18th, which established the amount of emergency support to the municipality of Porto Novo, in the order of 184 million escudos, the city council “has not yet received a single cent” from the Government.
It explained that after the rains in August, Porto Novo was visited by the Minister of Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Housing, Victor Coutinho.
Following the visit, the Cape Verde Roads Authority, through the mediation of the mayor, contacted a private company to proceed with the first phase of the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Ribeira da Cruz – Chã de Norte road, with a budgeted value of three million escudos.
“However, to date, the contract has not been signed and no transfer has been made to the company. It should be noted that, from the beginning, it was clear that the amount would not be transferred to the municipal council’s accounts,” the same source further clarifies.
According to the same source, the Government, through resolution no. 110/2025 of October 16, established that the Municipality of Porto Novo would benefit from the amount of 41 million escudos destined for the recovery of infrastructure affected by Storm Erin, this amount having later been corrected to 66 million escudos.
“It is also important to highlight that the Porto Novo Municipal Council received a visit on October 24th from the president of the board of directors of Estradas de Cabo Verde, who stated that there is currently an amount available for the recovery of road infrastructure in the municipality of Porto Novo, in the amount of 57 million escudos,” it noted.
Of this amount, almost 6 million escudos would be available for signing a program contract with the Porto Novo municipality for the recovery of the city’s roads affected by the storm, and the signing of said program contract is still pending.
The remaining amount will be managed directly by Estradas de Cabo Verde itself, it explained.
The Porto Novo Municipal Council also informed that it “will no longer tolerate false, complex and disrespectful political attacks,” which aim to call into question the negotiating and executive capacity of its president, especially when there are ongoing institutional dialogues, the resulting information from which should be treated “with caution and responsibility.”
“We reiterate that everything that has already been accomplished in terms of road rehabilitation, rural roads, housing interventions, water supply replenishment, and support for families is the result of the commitment and dedication of this municipal team,” he concluded.
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