State endorses loan of 518 million escudos to Portuguese firm Interilhas: Operators consider this government measure to be «a national shame»

The fact that the State has guaranteed a loan worth PTE 518 thousand made by the newly created Cabo Verde Interilhas (CVII), whose share capital is held by the Portuguese firm Transinsular, is causing widespread discontent among Cape Verdean operators. . “What a national shame! Shall we call this an international tender for the exploitation of inter-island maritime transport lines?", question private nationals who sought out ASemanaonline to express their discontent with regard to this measure by the government of Ulisses Correia e Silva, warning that "this financial engineering makes any other dubious business ever carried out in Cape Verde appear small in comparison with the same operation».

The decision in question was published this Friday, 13th, in the Official Gazette. But it fell like a bomb with national operators in the transport sector, who are reacting against this government measure - the deputy prime minister and minister of Finance (Olavo Correia) and the minister of Tourism and Transport and Economy Maritime (José Gonçalves) are seen as the bad guys.

«There are no words to describe this financial operation. The Portuguese win an alleged International Contest to explore the inter-island shipping lines for 20 years through Transinsular, they arrive in the country with nothing and three Cape Verde Fast Ferry boats are offered to Cape Verdeans and another gift (guarantee of the State) for a loan of PTE 518 thousand to launch commercial operations. Is this serious?», questioned with indignation a national private operator who sought out this digital newspaper to express his dissatisfaction with the government measure.

Going further, the same source qualifies this operation as a national shame. “What a national shame! Shall we call this an international tender for the exploration of inter-island maritime transport lines?”, asks the interlocutor of ASemanaonline, warning that “this financial engineering makes any other dubious business already carried out in Cape Verde appear small in comparison with the same operation".

Other operators heard by this newspaper corroborate the same opinion. They question why the Government endorses a loan from a foreign firm, but does not take the same decision in relation to national entrepreneurs, who face difficulties in obtaining credit from commercial banks to carry out new investments.« This is a measure that, in a way, it discriminates against national businessmen», they warn.

However, the Government of Ulisses Correia e Silva has a different reading of the aforementioned criticisms. It considers that the loan of PTE 518 thousand, according to Resolution nº 114/2019 of September 13, published, this Friday, the 13th, in the Official Bulletin, aims to help CVII company in "implementing the strategy established in the business plan ".

According to the same source, the financing will be provided by the banks Caixa Económica de Cabo Verde – CECV and the International Investment Bank – IIB.

"The State of Cape Verde recognizes the manifest national interest of the project, due to the important economic and social benefits that it will provide, and considers that all the required conditions for the granting of a guarantee have been met, so it is submitted to appreciation and approval of the Council of Ministers the present proposal for a Resolution", justifies the government, in the aforementioned diploma published.

CVII and scolding on the São Vicente/Santo Antão route

It should be noted that CV Interilhas is a consortium of companies that is in charge of the inter-island public maritime transport service concession and is made up of the Portuguese company Transinsular, which holds 51% of the capital, and a group of national shipowners who own the rest capital – this must be subscribed by the State, and private companies must then reimburse the amount in question.

The start of CVII operations was marked by chaos on the 15th of August on the S.Vicente/Santo Antão route – the ship Liberdadi was withdrawn from the same line, leaving only one CVII boat left there, which has been insufficient to meet user demand on these two islands in the north of the country. As a result, there were several protests from economic operators in the region, asking for the placement of another boat on the line and for better functioning of the CVII in the sale of tickets and the flow of cargo. CVII is already making three daily connections on the same route, but it is far from meeting the needs of Santo Antão and São Vicente.