News from Islands
Cape Verde wants to build a competitive and sustainable economy by 2016
The prime minister of Cape Verde said yesterday that over the next five years, the "central objective" of the government is building a dynamic, competitive, innovative and sustainable solution to address the "uncertain times" ahead.
Speaking at the special session of parliament in Cape Verde to present the Government's program, following the victory of the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) laws in February, Jose Maria Neves has submitted seven "strategic priorities" and highlighted the sector economic.
Increase and expand the productive base, productivity and competitiveness and achieve growth "robust" Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and create "thousands of jobs" are some of the targets proposed by the executive, who said he had regard to the urgent need "to maintain economic equilibrium in an environment of low inflation.
José Maria Neves reiterated the emphasis on diversification of tourism, the modernization of agriculture through the construction of dams, dikes and new wells for water catchment, the clusters of sea, sky and information technologies, new international financial services, the international business center and a hub for transhipment by sea and air cargo and passengers.
As a second shaft, the government of Cape Verde intends to promote private sector growth, investment and productivity through an "entrepreneurial culture" that "should start at a school."
The third objective concerns, he added, with the promotion of development and social cohesion and improving access to basic services, assuming they still exist in the islands' vast spaces "of inequality and exclusion, so it is necessary to combat poverty.
To this end, he continued, "empowering families" is a "grand design" because it is a condition "basic" for a balanced and participatory society, along with a "strong momentum" in public policy, with particular attention to health, education, housing, access to safe water, sanitation and electricity.
José Maria Neves said, as the fourth axis, the training of human resources and knowledge production enabler of economic growth, passing through the creation of "profound changes" to the country to compete in the global market, particularly in the area of ??new technologies.
The executive proposes to consolidate democracy, deepen the freedoms and strengthen good governance, which is the fifth objective, highlighting, among other areas, to implement an agenda for the prevention and suppression of crime.
Modernize and expand the infrastructure is the sixth priority of the executive, need "basic" to create a dynamic competitive and innovative, Jose Maria Neves said, stressing investment in ports, shipyards, airports and roads, air transport and sea.
The head of the Cape Verdean government has indicated that the government program is the desire to "break the total dependence" on imported fossil fuels, continuing the policy outlined in the previous legislature (2006/11), which predicts that by 2020, Cape Green will be 50% of the strategic needs covered by renewables.
Public investments in the production and distribution, and especially in telecommunications are also priorities of the executive, providing for the cheapening of the costs, increasing competitiveness and attracting investment.
As a seventh axis, Jose Maria Neves Cape Verde wants to claim as "global nation", "without borders or boundaries, and develop partnerships for competitiveness through modernization of public administration and cultural policy.
"We know it will not be easy. In today's world, it requires courage, going beyond the obvious and to deny the status quo," he concluded.
