Cape Verde Roundup: Portuguese Council, Pan-African Forum, teachers’ strikes
Council of Portuguese Communities
Cape Verde will have its first candidate for the Council of Portuguese Communities (CCP) in the upcoming elections. The only candidate for Cape Verde, 65-year-old José Ascenso, a retired professor and lawyer from Angola aims to defend the Portuguese and Portuguese-Cape Verdean communities, focusing on increasing cooperation in both quantitative and quality aspects, local media A Semana reported. The CCP is the Government's advisory body for policies relating to emigration and Portuguese communities abroad.
Pan-African Forum
President José Maria Neves will attend the 3rd edition of the Pan-African Forum for the Culture of Peace in Luanda, Angola from November 22-24, local media Inforpress reports. The event, promoted by Angola's President João Lourenço and the United Nations for Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), aims to prevent violence and conflicts in Africa through cultural exchange and intergenerational dialogue. In a publication released by the African Union, the forum will feature discussions on topics such as the role of young people in promoting peace, technology and education for gender equality, women's role in peace, security, development, educational system transformation, innovative financing and economic growth prospects.
Teachers’ strike
Teachers in Cape Verde on November 22, have begun a two-day strike, threatening an "indefinite period" until the government values the class and gives in in negotiations. According to Inforpress, the teachers' unions met with the Ministers of Education, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Public Administration to seek consensus. The president of the Democratic Teachers' Union during the strike said “The licensed teacher has a salary of 9 to 78,678 escudos ($778.29), while those who start from a base already in the dysfunction of public administration, the minimum they have is 107,471 escudos ($1,063.11), so what we ask for is exactly to equate our salary to the salary minimum for Public Administration and private staff, which is 107,000 escudos ($1,058.45),” he is quoted by Inforpress.
Diaspora bonds
Cape Verde is planning to create bonds on the stock exchange aimed exclusively at the diaspora from the first half of 2024, local media Expresso das Ilhas reports. Cape Verde’s Minister of Communities is quoted by Expresso das Ilhas saying “We noticed that our diaspora sends financial remittances to Cape Verde in a value that already exceeds 400 million euros this year alone, last year it was 375 million -, and the objective is that there is a diversification of investment. This diversification will be done through the capital market and the launch of the diaspora bonds.”
Presidential visit
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has ended his official visit to Cape Verde earlier than planned due to unforeseen schedules. Romania’s delegation signed three memorandums of understanding with the government of Cape Verde in education, health, veterinary, food security, and civil protection, Expresso das Ilhas reports. The Romanian President arrived in the West African nation on November 20, to reinforce bilateral relations between the two states.
