MpD considers that the State of the Nation is marked by economic growth, more employment and less extreme poverty

In his speech today in parliament, as part of the debate on the State of the Nation, the spokesperson for the MpD parliamentary group, Celso Ribeiro, assured that the country is recovering after a contraction caused by covid-19, with consistent growth, positively affecting families and, especially, young people.

Celso Ribeiro assured, on the other hand, that the State of the Nation is marked by the reduction of public debt and the improvement of resilience and external credibility, which has allowed companies greater access to credit at lower cost rates.

The spokesperson for the bench that supports the Government, also emphasized that “the country is growing almost five times more than the growth left by PAICV”, continued pointing out gains with policy measures to lower the tax burden on companies and families , and maintained that, today, the economic climate indicator is much better.

He also highlighted that GDP growth is having an impact on the lives of families and companies, as unemployment is falling, currently standing at 10.7%, thanks to economic dynamics and the greater capacity of companies to create jobs.

On the other hand, he pointed out that the tourism operational plan is underway and the prospects are to increase the supply capacity and receive even more tourists, which is why he argued that it is necessary to continue to qualify and direct the offers of agricultural products, fisheries, crafts, commerce, art and culture to meet the demands of the tourist market.

Despite the covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and, more recently, in the Gaza Strip, which required the Government to implement income and price policy to protect employment and income and reduce the impacts of inflation on families and companies, results that allowed the country to increase the wage bill which, according to Celso Ribeiro, increased to 32.7% in 2024 compared to 2015.

Regarding the national minimum wage, he announced that it increased in 2018, 2023 and 2024 and is expected to increase in 2025. The average wage and per capita income also increased during this period, a situation similar to what happened with the rate of social protection coverage.

Access to basic goods such as water, sanitation, electricity and butane gas, according to the data presented by that parliamentarian, has been increasing and in the opposite direction, the unemployment rate has reduced to 8.7%.

He also recalled that the Social Inclusion Income was created, which is benefiting more than 9,000 families, highlighting that the social pension benefits more than 26 thousand elderly people.

“Pre-school education was subsidized so that children from poorer families can have access to gardens, free payment of fees in basic and secondary education, with the introduction of an exemption from payment of the health moderation fee that benefits around 60,000 people”, he emphasized.

Celso Ribeiro said in his speech that thanks to the Government's measures it was possible to reduce VAT on electricity and water from 15 to 8%, tax on corporate income which in 2025 will be 20%.

Fiscal measures to stabilize energy prices such as gasoline, diesel, fuel, butane gas and electricity, something that also included basic necessities such as corn, wheat and cooking oil.

Security is globally stable, in the opinion of the MpD, but he admitted that the perception of insecurity still remains “high”, in real terms, ensuring that it is far from the situations recorded in the periods up to 2021, highlighting that all global agencies and institutions classify the country as “very peaceful, with low crime rates”.

At local government level, he said that there is a relationship of “excellence” and thanks to this there has been a significant increase in the municipal financing fund of around nine percent (%), and an increase in the transfer from 50% of the Tourism Fund to 60%. % of the Environment Fund.

He recognized that there are still significant challenges in promoting social cohesion and market integration, especially in the internal transport sector, which is currently facing an organizational phase.

Inforpress/End