Praia, Feb. 4, 2025 (Lusa) - Some of Cabo Verde's political analysts told Lusa today that the government reshuffle, announced on Monday, is a reaction to criticism of the government, but they are divided on its ability to have any influence, with about a year left in office.
‘If the idea of the reshuffle is to change things, to make them better, to achieve the results expected for this legislature, it's too late,’ António Ludgero Correia told Lusa, considering that reshuffles are normal, but should be done at the right time.
If the head of government hopes to convince those who haven't been convinced by the results so far, he'll fail, because time is short. But the prime minister knows which "threads he is sewing with," said the political analyst, pointing out that a more timely decision could have corrected trends.
Correia said that the current government programme has produced ‘less than expected’ results and that the new ministers are ‘capable’ figures, but will have to manage policies that have already been defined.
‘They will pilot the government programme for their sectors. Nothing can be stopped, only differentiated, perhaps with more skill, but not to the point of scoring decisive points,’ he said.
The analyst also said that the proximity of the 2026 legislative elections reduces the scope for structural changes.
‘There will be no new politics. Competent people will come in, but they'll be on a train that's already in motion and close to the final station. Will they be able to arrive with results? It will be difficult,’ he said.
António Ludgero Correia also criticised the departure of women from the government.
‘I can't understand it in a society where we talk about gender parity. For example, José Maria Neves [the current President],’ when he headed the government, “had times when he had more women than men in the government team,” he said.
On the other hand, analyst João de Deus Carvalho believes that the reshuffle responds to a call from society and sees room for change.
‘The MpD analysed the context and concluded that it needed to change the government to respond to the concerns of people and companies,’ he said, pointing out that the prime minister “tried to respond with this reshuffle” and regain ground after the poor results in the December local elections.
‘This remodelling is a piece in a puzzle. The government has to respond to the yellow card that Cabo Verde's society has shown the MpD. The good statistics from the International Monetary Fund [IMF] and the World Bank don't reflect the population's real standard of living,’ he warned.
‘A reshuffle a year or so before the elections is always a possible reshuffle,’ he concluded.
The prime minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, announced on Monday that the Ministry of Finance will remain under the leadership of Olavo Correia and the Ministry of Investment Promotion and Business Development will be created, led by Eurico Correia Monteiro, until now ambassador to Portugal.
The Communities portfolio will pass to the foreign minister, José Filomeno Monteiro, and the secretariats of state for Business Promotion and Higher Education will be abolished.
Jorge Figueiredo takes over Health, José Luís Sá Nogueira becomes head of Tourism and Transport, Vítor Coutinho takes over Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Housing and Eurico Correia Monteiro takes over Modernisation of the State and Public Administration.
"If the idea of the reshuffle is to change things, to make them better, to achieve the results expected for this legislature, it's too late," António Ludgero Correia told Lusa, considering that reshuffles are normal but should be done at the right time.
If the head of government hopes to convince those who haven't been convinced by the results so far, he'll fail because time is short. But the prime minister knows which "threads he is sewing with," said the political analyst, pointing out that a more timely decision could have corrected trends.
Correia said that the current government programme has produced "less than expected" results and that the new ministers are "capable" figures but will have to manage policies that have already been defined.
"They will pilot the government programme for their sectors. Nothing can be stopped, only differentiated, perhaps with more skill, but not to the point of scoring decisive points," he said.
The analyst also said that the proximity of the 2026 legislative elections reduces the scope for structural changes.
"There will be no new politics. Competent people will come in, but they'll be on a train that's already in motion and close to the final station. Will they be able to arrive with results? It will be difficult," he said.
António Ludgero Correia also criticised the departure of women from the government.
"I can't understand it in a society where we talk about gender parity. For example, José Maria Neves [the current President]," when he headed the government, “had times when he had more women than men in the government team,” he said.
On the other hand, analyst João de Deus Carvalho believes that the reshuffle responds to a call from society and sees room for change.
"The MpD analysed the context and concluded that it needed to change the government to respond to the concerns of people and companies," he said, pointing out that the prime minister “tried to respond with this reshuffle” and regain ground after the poor results in the December local elections.
"This remodelling is a piece in a puzzle. The government has to respond to the yellow card that Cabo Verde's society has shown the MpD. The good statistics from the International Monetary Fund [IMF] and the World Bank don't reflect the population's real standard of living," he warned.
"A reshuffle a year or so before the elections is always a possible reshuffle," he concluded.
The prime minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, announced on Monday that the Ministry of Finance will remain under the leadership of Olavo Correia and the Ministry of Investment Promotion and Business Development will be created, led by Eurico Correia Monteiro, until now ambassador to Portugal.
The Communities portfolio will pass to the foreign minister, José Filomeno Monteiro, and the secretariats of state for Business Promotion and Higher Education will be abolished.
Jorge Figueiredo takes over Health, José Luís Sá Nogueira becomes head of Tourism and Transport, Vítor Coutinho takes over Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Housing and Eurico Correia Monteiro takes over Modernisation of the State and Public Administration.
RS/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
