Casa Para Todos: MpD accuses the President of the Republic of pressuring the Public Ministry

The leader of the Parliamentary Group of the Movement for Democracy (MpD-poder), Paulo Veiga, today accused the President of the Republic of pressuring the Public Ministry and of interfering in the political debate in parliament.

The president of the GP reacted like this, in a press conference to comment on the statements made by the general secretary of the PAICV, Julião Varela, and the Head of State, José Maria Neves, about the alleged embezzlement of 100 million euros allegedly practiced by the Government of the African Independence Party of Cape Verde (PAICV – opposition) under the “Casa para Todos” project.

In the parliamentary session last Friday, the 10th, the deputy of the Movement for Democracy (MpD-poder) denounced the alleged record of suspicion of embezzlement of 100 million euros practiced by the Government of the PAICV during the “Casa para Todos” project, and more than 40 cases of evidence of corruption in the governance of this party in the Public Prosecutor's Office.

The PAICV announced that it will bring a criminal case against the deputy Isa Costa, with the President of the Republic considering the accusation as “ extremely serious ” and that it requires the “ necessary investigation ”.

For the MpD Parliamentary Group, deputy Isa Costa asked the PAICV for clarification on the destination of half of a loan of 200 million euros that had been contracted by the State of Cape Verde from the Portuguese State, for the construction of 8,500 income houses within the framework of the Casa para Todos program.

Paulo Veiga also said that the deputy noted that the number of houses had not been completed and that within the framework of the program private houses, duplex typology, were also built for people close to that party.

In view of this parliamentary intervention, he considered that the statements by the President of the Republic and the PAICV, through the secretary general, on the one hand, seek to distort the content of the said intervention, which they erected to a “very serious” attack against a foreign Government, and on the other hand, on the other hand, press for a criminal investigation against congresswoman Isa Costa.

“The reaction of the President of the Republic was nothing more than an unacceptable form of pressure on the Public Ministry, an attempt to condition our deputy and to interfere and directly take a position in the political debate in parliament, which violate, clearly and more once, the separation of powers to which all sovereign bodies are subject, by the Constitution ,” he added.

Being the highest magistrate in the State, Paulo Veiga considers that José Maria Neves cannot be talking about numbers when he is not sure.

Paulo Veiga also advanced that the PAICV acknowledged that only 2,240 houses were completed out of the 8,500 planned and that funds from the program were used for constructions other than social income houses.

“It is also known that private homes were even built for certain politically exposed people, with materials and workers from the aforementioned program and, in addition, it is known that, at the initiative of the Finance Inspection, an investigation has been underway by the Public Ministry for some time about the execution of the Casa para Todos program, due to evidence of crime ”, he pointed out.

The Parliamentary Group of the Movement for Democracy, which shares the same opinion as deputy Isa Costa, said that the PAICV should clarify and explain to Cape Verdeans about this situation and where the money went.

“You have to justify where and what the money was used for and here, when you say diversion, you can't take it to the robbery camp as the President of the Republic said, but you need to explain, clarify why the contract was made to make 8,500 houses, then it was negotiated for 6,000 and such houses and in the end there were only 2,240 ”, he underlined.

For the MpD, the President of the Republic and the general secretary of the PAICV seriously ignored article 170º nº 1 of the Constitution, for which, as is characteristic of liberal democracies, deputies and parliamentary groups “ do not respond civilly, criminally or discipline ” for the “ votes and opinions they issue in the exercise of their functions ”. The Week with Inforpress