Mayor of Brava considers the controversy surrounding the implementation of the PCFR to be "unnecessary"

According to the Bravense mayor, at no time has the government provided a concrete financial amount to support the implementation of the PCFR, despite the openness expressed at a meeting held on April 28, 2025, which was attended by the Prime Minister and some members of the government. Amândio Brito stressed that this reality was recently reaffirmed by the President of the National Association of Cape Verdean Municipalities (ANMCV) himself, when confronted with the fact that several municipalities have still not managed to implement the PCFR.

On the same occasion, he recalled that the non-implementation of the plan in some municipalities has been criticized by the MpD Parliamentary Group, namely in relation to the Praia and São Domingos councils, but stressed that there are several other municipalities, including Brava, which are facing serious financial restrictions that are conditioning this process.

The mayor explained to Bravanews that, every year, the government transfers the Municipal Financing Fund (FFM) to the councils, with some municipalities benefiting from more significant increases, while others see only residual increases. In the specific case of Brava, the funds have increased gradually over the last few years. In 2024, for example, the CMB recorded an increase of more than a thousand contos in the FFM.

In view of this scenario, Amândio Brito questions why, despite this increase, it was not possible to immediately implement the PCFR that same year, stressing that drawing up a nominative list of eligible employees requires not only political will, but also financial conditions and strict legal compliance.

The Mayor recalled that Decree-Law no. 4/2024 of January 24, which regulates the PCFR, clearly defines who should be covered by the plan and what procedures should be followed. According to the decree, all workers who joined the civil service before the 2013 PCCS came into force should be covered, as well as those who joined the civil service after 2013 through a public tender.

Workers who joined the civil service after 2013 without a competitive tendering process and who were employed under service contracts, which are considered precarious employment relationships, are excluded from the PCFR.

Despite the financial limitations, Brava City Council has decided to prioritize labour justice and the appreciation and dignification of its human resources. So, in January 2025, it began work on implementing the PCFR, while scrupulously respecting the legal framework.

This process resulted in the drawing up of a list of 91 employees who meet the legal requirements for transition under the PCFR. The municipality held several meetings with the employees in order to inform and clarify the process, waited for the legal period for complaints and receipt of supporting documents and analyzed each case individually.

On completion of the process, CMB met again with the employees who had been awarded the contract and made a commitment to pay their salaries in accordance with the PCFR from January 2026, a commitment that, according to Amândio Brito, has been fully met. "We paid 91 employees under the PCFR. We have complied," he said, pointing out that many local councils have not yet managed to take this step.

The mayor also pointed out that the implementation of the PCFR has made it possible to correct historical situations of employment injustice, integrating workers with more than 30 years' service who until then had precarious contracts into the council's staff. Other employees, despite belonging to the staff, had never progressed or been promoted over decades, a situation that has now begun to be corrected.

With the PCFR, some employees now earn the national minimum wage of 19,000 escudos, with all workers who joined before 2013 being duly covered.

With regard to the more than 100 employees with precarious contracts - who joined after 2013 without a competition - Amândio Brito explained that they will have to wait for the regularization process provided for in Decree-Law no. 44/2025, of 10 December. Of this universe, around 90 meet the legal requirements for regularization, while others are excluded for not complying with the provisions of article 3 of the aforementioned law.

The case of Francisca Isabel Mascarenhas Gomes

The mayor devoted part of his explanation to the case of the monitor Francisca Isabel Mascarenhas Gomes, known as Bela de Nha Génia, who is often mentioned in public debate. As he explained, the professional began working in 1996 at Jardim Padre Pio, a private institution that paid her salary, and had no ties to the town hall at the time.

Only in 2018 did the monitor formally join CMB, at her request, through a fixed-term employment contract. Therefore, as she joined after 2013 and without a public tender, she does not meet the legal requirements to be on the PCFR transition list, as established by Decree-Law no. 4/2024.

Amândio Brito also stressed that all the documents presented by the monitor had been analyzed and that none of them proved that she had taken part in a public competition. He also stressed CMB's respect and recognition for the work carried out by Jardim Padre Pio in the training of Bravenses' children.

The Mayor of Brava concluded by reaffirming that the municipality has already drawn up the list of workers eligible for the regularization of precarious employment relationships, in accordance with the law, and that it has maintained a permanent dialogue with employees, holding meetings to inform and clarify all aspects related to the PCFR and employment regularization.

"We don't work under pressure from anyone, but rather in scrupulous compliance with the law," he said, adding that in just one year in office, the current administration has shown that it is focused on improving the working conditions of employees and the quality of life of residents, a mark that, according to the mayor, will define his term at the head of Brava Town Hall.