Cape Verde PAICV Slams Opposition Over Public Finance Report
Cape Verde’s political landscape is heating up as the ruling PAICV party hit back at the opposition on Wednesday, accusing them of an “abusive” and “politically biased” interpretation of a recent Public Finance Council (CFP) report.
PAICV Defends Budgetary Integrity
João Brito, vice-president of the PAICV parliamentary group, held a press conference to counter claims made by the Movement for Democracy (MpD). He argued that the opposition has deliberately twisted a technical document to suit its political narrative. According to Brito, the report does not vindicate the previous administration’s management, nor does it undermine current Prime Minister Francisco Carvalho’s criticisms of the nation’s financial handling.
“The real problem has been the systematic abuse of budget reprogramming to profoundly alter the budget approved by the National Assembly,” Brito stated. He accused the former MpD government of turning an “exceptional instrument” into a standard way of governing, thereby avoiding necessary parliamentary scrutiny.
Transparency Concerns and Rising Loans
Brito highlighted that the CFP report itself calls for stronger transparency and warns about the predictability of budget programming. He specifically raised alarms over a 122.5% increase in the allocation for external loans in this year’s budget, demanding legal and political clarity on how those resources are being utilized.
This defense follows accusations from the MpD on Tuesday, where the opposition party rejected claims of “budget slippage.” The MpD argued the CFP report proves there were no “hidden accounts” and accused the Prime Minister of damaging Cape Verde’s international reputation by questioning the credibility of public accounts to justify a Rectifying Budget.
The Numbers Behind the Dispute
The CFP report details that planned expenditure rose from 95.7 billion escudos (€867.9 million) to 102.7 billion escudos (€931.3 million). This spike was largely driven by an 80.4% increase in external resources. However, the council clarified that these figures represent funds already contracted through financing and grants rather than new debt.
Key financial indicators from the first quarter show:
- Tax revenue increased by 12%.
- Total expenditure grew by 16.6%.
- The budget balance remains positive at 1.4 billion escudos (€12.7 million), or 0.4% of GDP.
A New Path Forward
To prevent future friction, the CFP recommended that the government ensure greater predictability in budget preparation and publish a consolidated table tracking all budgetary changes throughout the year.
The initial 2026 State Budget, set at 95.6 billion escudos by the previous MpD administration, has recently been overhauled. The current government’s Rectifying Budget, signed into law last week by President José Maria Neves, shifts priorities. While it slightly reduces overall public spending by 0.1%, it injects significant funds into social sectors, including 139 million escudos for education, 300 million for medicines, and 50 million for social benefits.
Image: Pexels – damien Saillet
