Praia, Aug. 4, 2026 (Lusa) – Cabo Verde's national statistics institute (INE) has rejected accusations of falsifying statistics, asserting its technical independence and adherence to international methodologies, after the prime minister accused the institution of producing «falsified data».
«INE clearly, firmly and categorically rejects any insinuations of manipulation, falsification or improper alteration of official statistical data,» the institute's board of directors stated in a press release on Monday.
They added that all statistical production follows methodologies in line with the recommendations of the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and other specialised international organisations, ensuring the comparability of the indicators produced by Cabo Verde with those of other countries.
With regard to national accounts and the calculation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), they noted that the work is carried out with technical assistance from the IMF and maintains that the adjustments made to the estimate of Gross Value Added (GVA) constitute methodological procedures provided for by international standards and do not constitute any form of data manipulation.
This clarification comes four days after Prime Minister Francisco Carvalho announced an independent review of INE to investigate alleged interference in statistical production and restore the credibility of official data.
«The country was taken by surprise by serious allegations regarding the functioning of INE, relating to alleged interference and data manipulation. And it is precisely this that leads this Government never to make hasty judgements, but to analyse matters seriously and thoroughly so that it can act in the best possible way,» said Francisco Carvalho during the State of the Nation debate.
The prime minister also accused INE of producing «falsified data».
«We have all seen that INE has been producing falsified data; this has been reported by its own staff,» he said.
The institute expressed its willingness to welcome any external evaluation mission or peer review organised by the relevant authorities, considering that such processes represent «an opportunity to strengthen institutional quality, promote the continuous improvement of its processes and consolidate confidence in official statistics».
INE considered that public debate surrounding official statistics should be based on «scientific evidence, methodological rigour, technical expertise and respect for institutions», thereby helping to strengthen public confidence.
In the statement, the board of directors also reaffirmed that the institute will continue to carry out its mission with «absolute technical independence», in accordance with national legislation and the United Nations' Fundamental Principles of Statistics, reiterating its commitment to «technical independence, transparency, scientific rigour and service to the State of Cabo Verde and its citizens».
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