INTERVIEW: Miguel Rosa demands "special attention" from the Government for the island of Maio

In an interview with Inforpress, on the occasion of Maio Municipality Day, celebrated on September 8, the mayor admitted that the problem of maritime transport to and from the island of Maio has haunted its development, in a current situation that he classified as “emergency”.

“Since May, the entire development process of the island, using an expression that is not mine, has been haunted by this issue of the maritime connection that was working very well until May. Currently, the situation on the island is in an emergency,” he admitted.

Miguel Rosa referred, for example, to the difficulty in supplying the island with basic necessities, as well as the distribution of goods, in addition to the constraints of stranded people which, he admitted, has created “enormous constraints”.

“This is inconceivable, I repeat, it is inconceivable,” he reinforced.

The Maio problem, at this moment, continued, is not related to the silting of the metal ramp, but rather a problem with the ship that runs along the Praia-Maio line, which, he summarized, “does not satisfy” the solution announced last week by the Minister of the Sea to allocate the ship Praia d'Aguada.

“The Praia d'Aguada solution is not a bad solution, but it is not satisfactory at the moment, because it has no ro-ro. When will we have a ro-ro Praia d'Aguada? There is no forecast. The minister has a very interesting vision, which we agree with, but we need urgent measures. We cannot wait three, four, five months for Praia d'Aguada to be transformed into a ro-ro ship”, reacted Miguel Rosa.

That is why the mayor is asking for “special attention” from the Government to the island of Maio for the “urgent resolution” of the problem which, as he suggested, is related to the “immediate introduction” of a ro-ro vessel, since predictability, regularity and safety “are not guaranteed” with the current situation.

“We need a boat on the Maio-Praia route, not an exclusive one, but a boat dedicated to this route. And with the port we have, with the options we have for ships nationwide, it makes no sense for Maio to be suffering at this time,” he said, highlighting that the island should be “taken into account in the acquisition process” of new boats that the Government has underway.

Despite the constraints on maritime transport, Miguel Rosa considered that the island of Maio has made “qualitative leaps” in several sectors of development, asserting that “today’s Maio is completely different from that of 2016” and that the last few years have seen “profound transformation” on the island.

The same source highlighted urban and environmental requalification infrastructures, as well as investments in sports infrastructures that exceed 200 thousand contos, in addition to investments in housing, through the rehabilitation of houses.

However, Miguel Rosa once again highlights that the island needs “a boost from private investment” and “special attention” from the Government to move towards development, highlighting, for example, the Little Africa investment which, as he said, will completely reverse the island’s dynamics.

According to the mayor, of the shallow islands, Maio Island is the only one that “hasn’t made the leap yet”, but he believes that this leap will happen at any moment.

Despite the low national representation of tourism data, Miguel Rosa admitted the ambition to make the island a “tourist destination of excellence”, capable of competing with national tourist destinations.

“Maio has all the conditions we need to aspire to have here, both in terms of human development index and in terms of quality of life of the Seychelles, Singapore and other international destinations. The problem is to create the conditions so that a French person, for example, who comes with the aim of visiting Maio Island, does not stay in Praia for four or five days and then return,” he reiterated.

In fact, Miguel Rosa considered that in the wake of the private investment that will take place and taking into account the island's ambitions, there are already conditions to have an international airport, in order to attract even more investments and make up for the loss of population, “a problem” for the island.

According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), from 2010 to 2021 the island of Maio lost 8.9 percent (%) of its population and the expectation is that, by 2040, the island will lose 22.6% of its young population.

Miguel Rosa, however, downplays the departure of young people from the island, arguing that the phenomenon is global.

“People with jobs and job security have also been leaving Maio Island. It is a global phenomenon of people mobility,” he pointed out.

However, the mayor admitted that the biggest problem, more than “stopping the departure” of people, is the ability to attract “structuring, impactful and inducing” investments that can generate jobs.

For those who are leaving, Miguel Rosa asked that they not lose sight of the island of Maio and that they continue to believe in the island because, as he said, “all the conditions are in place” to “make the switch and transform Maio” into an island where people can live well, have access to financing, employment and the ability to generate their own jobs.

Inforpress/End