Fire: Municipalities need more resources, powers and better coordination mechanisms, says PR
The President of the Republic José Maria Neves said on Tuesday that municipalities and islands need more resources, more power and better institutional coordination mechanisms to ensure greater efficiency, competitiveness and sustainable growth.
On the last of his four-day visit to the island of Fogo, José Maria Neves said that the debate on decentralization should be led by the political parties, with a view to defining the best institutional framework for the country.
"It's up to the parties to debate this issue and find the best institutional framework to carry out decentralization," he said.
"It's up to the parties to debate this issue and find the best institutional framework for decentralization, but it's clear that the municipalities need more resources and more powers," he said.
According to José Maria Neves, in addition to strengthening competencies and financial means, it is essential to create instances of articulation and integration between the islands, in order to make better use of material resources and existing institutions, allowing more consistent results to be achieved in terms of development.
The PR highlighted the positive experiences observed on the island of Fogo, pointing out that there is better coordination between the mayors and the existence of a strategic vision oriented not only towards the short term, but also towards the durability and sustainability of development.
"This visit allowed me to see many positive aspects and realize that there is enormous potential which, with greater decentralization, will certainly be able to accelerate the pace of growth and transformation of each of our islands and the country," he said.
On regionalization, José Maria Neves considered that the process depends on the dynamics of the different political parties, acknowledging, however, that in Cape Verde it has not always been easy to reach consensus and pointed to the election of bodies outside parliament as an example, stressing that "where there is a need to share power, there have been blockages."
For the Head of State, it is essential to strengthen the culture of dialogue and the capacity for compromise between political forces.
"We need to learn to dialog, to share power and to look for more innovative and rewarding ways of exercising power in Cape Verde," he concluded.
Inforpress
