ELECTIONS

Praia’s Jorge Barbosa National Auditorium proved too small for the crowd of youths and batuko singers who made their way there to express their support for a possible presidential bid on the part of David Hopffer Almada. With a relative scarcity of major political names, the event was attended, among others, by former Minister of Culture Manuel Veiga (A Semana).

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will begin a trip to the African continent on July 3. The trip, which will begin in Cape Verde, will also take him to Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, Zambia and South Africa (A Semana).

Portuguese President Aníbal Cavaco Silva will visit Cape Verde from July 4th  to 7th at the invitation of his Cape Verde counterpart, Pedro Pires, in order to participate in the commemorative ceremonies of the 35th anniversary of Cape Verde’s independence.

Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero reiterated his government’s willingness to “reinforce the European Union’s strategic relationship with Cape Verde” during a meeting with Cape Verdean Prime Minister José Maria Neves. Madrid will maintain the financial support it has given Cape Verde, particularly in the fight against the threats posed by organized crime and drug trafficking (A Semana).

Cape Verde will participate in the implementation of a “One Stop Shop” for the tourism sector in five provinces of Mozambique, following the signing recently of a cooperation protocol between Cape Verde’s NOSi and Mozambique’s Ministry of Tourism (A Semana).

DEFENCE

The commander of the United States African Command Africom has affirmed that “trafficking of all kinds robs Africa of its economic potential” and cited Cape Verde’s fight against drug trafficking and maritime security program as “an example to follow” (A Semana).

SAL

The mortality rate of sea turtles on the island of Sal dropped by approximately 10% in 2009 as a result of the protection and preservation campaigns carried out last year (A Semana).

SANTO ANTAO

Prime Minister José Maria Neves presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of the Porto Novo port dock on the island of Santo Antão (A Semana).

The next major investment planned for Cape Verde’s Santo Antao Island will be the airport, whose studies have already been completed, Cape Verdean Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves said (Macauhub).

About 15 thousand pines, grevillea and acacias will be planted during July and August in the forest perimeter of Planalto Leste, in Santo Antão.

SANTIAGO

The Capeverdean government signed the contract for the construction of three dams on Santiago, as part of the programme for  infrastructure for the agricultural sector and water management. The dams are widely believed to spark of an agricultural revolution on the island.

SAO NICOLAU

The first dams to be built on São Nicolau will be in Ribeira Brava, in the Valley of Fajã, Tucudo, in the valley of Queimadas , and Ribeira de João (Inforpress).

ATLANTICO WEEKLY ON VACATION

Please note that the Atlantico Weekly team will be on holidays during the month of July. There will be therefore no new editions until August. And yes, we will be swimming in the Atlantic…

BUILDING OF THE WEEK

The Ponta Bicuda resort on Santiago (Ponta Bicuda).

PICTURES WANTED!

Please help us develop this Building of the Week feature and send us your pictures of interesting buildings or developments…

ECONOMY

A new study revealed that Cape Verdean emigrants’ remittances sent to their families are used largely for consumption, especially in food and the education of their children (Inforpress).

AVIATION

Cape Verdean state airline, TACV is to buy two aircraft to increase its fleet and has launched a new class, between economy and executive, for improved passenger comfort (Macauhub).

TOURISM

The doors to the second edition of tourism trade fair Expotur opened last Friday. Some 50 stands and 31 exhibitors – 10 of them foreign – are inside São Filipe Fort in Cidade Velha. Some 15 international journalists have also come to Cape Verde to give “greater projection” to the event, the theme of which this year is “Back to the Origins.” Expotur will run until June 27 (A Semana).

All of Cape Verde’s islands show potential for the development of rural tourism, according to a study carried out at the request of the National Union of Tourism Operators (Unotur). The study investigated the available tourist products and their diversity in rural areas of all of the country’s municipalities (A Semana).

The municipality of Porto Novo on the island of Santo Antão is the site of Cape Verde’s first youth hostel, which was officially unveiled by Prime Minister José Maria Neves (A Semana).

BANKING & FINANCE

The net results of Banco Interatlântico (BI) of Cape Verde (part of the Portuguese Grupo Caixa Geral de Depósitos) decreased around 2 percent in 2009 compared to 2008 (Inforpress).

The City Hall of Sal has earned 200 million Cape Verdean escudos (US$2.2 million) from its bond issue, carried out from 7 to 18 June by the Cape Verdean Stock Exchange (Macauhub).

MEDICAL SECTOR

The Italian Ettore Sansavini Foundation for the promotion of health in the world, that runs the management of the Hospital São Francisco de Assis in São Filipe since  Ferbuary, aims to make this hospital a reference for the Islands and for the West coast of Africa (Inforpress).

EUROPEAN UNION

Last week’s poll on Atlantico Weekly could hardly have been clearer. No less than 90 % of those of you that participated in the poll on the question of Cape Verde’s accession to the European Union voted in favour!

BRAVA

The main headline on the front page of today’s printed edition of A Semana reveals that Brava will finally get a new airport. Following a government decision, Airport and Air Security Company ASA has hired external consultants who will begin a preliminary study between now and September to determine where the airport will be located on Cape Verde’s smallest inhabited island.

SANTIAGO

Praia residents have adhered en masse to a project aimed at safeguarding the city’s architectural heritage. The project, which is being promoted through Facebook, is an initiative of the group Maltas di Praia di Tudo Tempo, and, according to one its promoters, Paula Barbosa, already has some 1,200 “friends” on the social networking site (A Semana).

The Praia Municipal Council plans to issues bonds worth 450 million Cape Verdean escudos (4.08 million euros) via the cape Verde Stock Exchange, the Mayor of Praia, Ulisses Correia e Silva, announced (Macauhub).

SHOULD CAPE VERDE JOIN THE EUROPEAN UNION?

Why not? The advantages for Cape Verde are obvious: joining the EU would mean being part of a safe and stable political environment (though that is of course debatable these days) as well as joining a huge market. The Escudo is already pegged to the Euro and Cape Verde’s sound monetary policies make full integration feasible. Pre-accesion funds and post-accession regional and structural funds will boost the country’s budget for investment in infrastructure and make up for dwindling emigrant’s transfers. To the EU, Cape Verde is small enough to not make a difference when it comes to the availability of EU funds. Culturally speaking, Cape Verde is half European anyway.

An open EU-membership application by Cape Verde will boost its image and create a favourable investment climate. On the other hand, the country must be ready to undergo scrutiby from EU-bureacrats, the press and the European citizenry.

What do you think?

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Cape Verde already has what could be called a “friendship group” in the European Parliament, created in order to expand relations between Cape Verde and the European Union and take better advantage of the special partnership that exists. The group is made up mostly of Portuguese members of the European Parliament (A Semana).

Prime Minister José Maria Neves participated in the first summit between Cape Verde and Portugal, a “very clear” sign of the level of cooperation between the two countries (A Semana). Five protocols were signed.

DEFENCE

The Council of Ministers has approved a measure reintegrating military personnel demobilized or sent into the reserves between June 1, 1980 and December 31, 2000 (A Semana).

SANTO ANTAO

On June 15th the building of the Centre for inspection and packaging of agricultural products of Santo Antão will be inaugurated in Porto Novo, coming into operation within one to two months (Inforpress).

BUILDING OF THE WEEK

The brandnew Pedra Branca villas at Calhau on Sao Vicente (Imobrisa).

AVIATION

All of TACV Cabo Verde Airlines’ accounts, which had been frozen for more than a week on orders from the Public Ministry, have been freed for transactions (A Semana).

MEAT

Cape Verde’s National Directorate for Agriculture, Silviculture and Livestock (DGASP) plans to import 452 bovine cattle from Brazil, as part of its programme to improve breeds and promote the livestock sector in the country (Macauhub).

SPLIT SECOND POLL

CLOSED POLL

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Last week’s Atlantico Weekly poll on Cape Verde’s best strategic international partners turned out some surprising results. You, Cape Verde policymakers, experts and friends like to spread out the interests of the country with as many partners as possible, but Cape Verde’s most favoured partner is still the former colonial power Portugal (receiving 18 % of all votes cast). Both the EU and Brazil compete for second place with around 15% each. The US, China and Angola come next, with Cuba and France further back and with the Arab world and Venezuela at the bottom of the list. Some 6% of you feel that Cape Verde does not need any international partners as all.

The first edition of the ECOWAS/Brazil Summit will take place on the island of Sal in the month of July, and will feature the presence of Brazilian President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, in addition to heads of state and government from the 15 member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (A Semana).

DEFENCE

The Village Porto Inglês and the beach of Ponta Preta in Maio welcomed operations of the military exercise “ALGA 010″, whose objective is to prepare the Cape Verdean Armed Forces for landing missions, patrolling and humanitarian operations (InforPress).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

The Praia State Prosecutor’s Office has frozen all of TACV Cabo Verde Airlines’ accounts due to its failure to abide by a ruling handed down in February of 2010 obliging the company to reintegrate pilot Domingos Fontes, who the court had found to have been unjustly suspended from his functions (A Semana).

A total of 155 firearms, of which 50 percent craft weapons, was apprehended during the period from 1st April to 30th May in Cape Verde,  the Minister of the Internal Administration, Lívio Lopes announced (InforPress).

BOA VISTA

Boa Vista should receive the kick off of the Project Safe Tourism, which aims in particular to prevent violence and crime against the tourists (Inforpress).

CIDADE VELHA

Cape Verdean Prime Minister José Maria Neves received the UNESCO certificate confirming Cidade Velha’s inclusion on its list of World Heritage Sites from the hands of Brazil’s Minister of Culture, Juca Ferreira. The moment was “important and significant” and included mutual praise from both Neves and Ferreira, who share the common objective of seeing their respective countries develop further through a more intensive cultural and social partnership (A Semana).

SANTO ANTAO

The regional prison of Santo Antão will be built in the municipality of Porto Novo (Inforpress).

BUILDING OF THE WEEK

The new hotel at Fortim Mindelo, Sao Vicente

ECONOMY

The “great economic synchronisation” of Cape Verde with Europe, in particular the Euro Zone, “where there are serious problems”, will constrain the Cape Verdean economy in case of a deepening of the crisis, the Governor of the Bank of Cape Verde (BCV) warned (Inforpress).

TOURISM

Portuguese and Cape Verdean businesspeople are interested in carrying out the cruise liner terminal project in Sao Vicente, the chairman of port management company Enapor said in Praia (Macauhub).

UTILITIES

The Council of Ministers has authorized water and electricity utility Electra to transfer rights and obligations to a private Cape Verdean corporation for the transportation and distribution of electricity and water on the island of Boa Vista (A Semana).

PICTURES WANTED!

Please send us your pictures of new developments and buildings on Cape Verde so we can continue our feature Building of the week…

SPLIT SECOND POLL