Cape Verde deserves better than this comedy of errors - Antonio Varela
Cape Verde is being dragged through a constant comedy of errors, one disaster after another, all aggravated by poor leadership and mismanagement. We have lived through too many examples to pretend otherwise.
First, the Fogo eruption - an unprecedented natural disaster that should have united the nation around its people. Instead, millions of dollars in donations and aid vanished into thin air. Families were left displaced, promises have been broken and suffering prolonged because of incompetence at the top.
And now, the cycle is repeating itself in São Vicente. Reports are coming in that donations sent by generous people in the United States - contributions of food, supplies and essential goods - have been transported by the New Hampshire Coast Guard on a special humanitarian mission. This mission, born of goodwill and solidarity, should have been a moment of pride and relief for our people. But what happened? Instead of delivering the aid directly to those in need, the flight was diverted to Sal. The excuse? That the goods would eventually be taken by ferry to São Vicente.
Tell me - where is the logic in this? Where's the urgency? Where is the leadership? This isn't charity for a political rally or a propaganda exercise. We're talking about lives at risk. Children are going hungry. Families are living under collapsed roofs. And yet the government treats this as if it were a nuisance - an interruption to the comfort of their offices and their photo shoots.
In the first few days they appear on camera, make speeches, take photos as if their presence were enough to solve the crisis. And then what? They retire to the comfort of their palaces, their air-conditioned offices and their endless political games. Meanwhile, the people of São Vicente wait - because the leaders can't manage the simplest of logistics.
Where is the management? Where are the logistics experts? Is anyone really in charge? This is the image of a government that can't walk and chew gum at the same time. It's a disgrace to the world and a tragedy for the people who are paying the price for so much incompetence.
And where are the "statesmen" - Jorge Carlos Fonseca, Carlos Veiga and the others who like to present themselves as "guardians of democracy" and "men of principle"? When the nation is in crisis, where are their voices? Where is their leadership? Why don't they take charge, guide, bring dignity and competence where the current leaders clearly fail? Or do we have to accept that they simply don't care either? That their era of service was only self-serving and that they now prefer silence to responsibility?
Cape Verde deserves better than this comedy of errors. Our people are resilient, but resilience should not be an excuse for abandonment. We have a right to expect leadership that plans ahead, manages resources transparently and treats disasters as urgent matters of national responsibility - not as political nuisances.
History will not forgive this level of negligence. And the people will not forget.
