African Studies
Utafiti: Journal of African Perspectives
Call for Papers: Utafiti is inviting you to submit your manuscript – any topic in the humanities - for consideration in the next issues.
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Cape Verde has consolidated its position as a multiparty country with regular free and fair elections, a free press, high literacy rates, a vibrant civil society and three decades of political stability. On the economic front, Cape Verde has achieved a certain degree of macroeconomic stability, low levels of inflation and declining fiscal deficits. Despite a slight fall in its 2004 Human Development Index, the socioeconomic indicators are impressive as compared to other West African nations: life expectancy is above 70 years; primary and secondary school enrolment is almost 100% and 70% respectively and per capita income is rapidly approaching $ 1,500. These achievements have earned Cape Verde the dubious privilege of exiting the group of Least Developed Countries (LDC).
In March, Prime Minister José Maria Neves was reconfirmed as leader of the ruling ‘Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde’ (PAICV). However, he had already announced that he would step down from the party leadership in 2015, one year before the next general elections. In June, Ulisses Correia e Silva, the mayor of the capital, Praia, was elected unopposed as the new leader of the opposition ‘Movimento para a Democracia’ (MpD). While the overall domestic economy was increasingly affected by the economic crisis in the eurozone, the tourism sector continued to resist its impact and registered a 3.4% increase in visitors.
The IMF praised the country's economic performance. Considerably higher foreign aid, increased emigrant remittances and growing foreign direct investment in tourism sustained estimated GDP growth at 7%. However, given the economy's vulnerability to external shocks and persistent dependence on foreign assistance, the government feared the negative consequences of the expected graduation from the Least Developed Countries status, because of the possible loss of access to concessionary lending. Towards the end of the year, the country prepared for legislative and presidential elections in early 2006.
Prime Minister José Maria Neves was confirmed in office when the ruling ‘Partido Africano de Independência de Cabo Verde’ (PAICV) won an absolute majority in the legislative elections in January. In March, President Pedro Pires (PAICV) was re-elected for a second term. Economic growth, driven by private and public investments, continued and the country succeeded in attracting further inflows of both development aid and private foreign investment.
Brussels granted Cape Verde special partnership status with the EU, while the UN confirmed the country's formal graduation to Medium Developed Country (MDC) status with effect from January 2008. At home, a dispute between the ruling ‘Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde’ (PAICV) and the opposition ‘Movimento para a Democracia’ (MpD) on the composition of the electoral commission delayed the electoral census. In the economy, the tourism sector continued to attract huge foreign investments and supported strong economic growth.
In the municipal elections in May, the opposition ‘Movimento para a Democracia’ (MpD) defeated the ruling ‘Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde’ (PAICV). The defeat prompted Prime Minister José Maria Neves to reshuffle his government to give it a new image. At the end of the year, after being affected by rising fuel and food prices, the country experienced the first consequences of the global economic crisis.
The political scene was marked by the comeback of Carlos Veiga, the former prime minister and leader of the ‘Movimento para a Democracia’ (MpD), who was elected uncontested as new leader of his party. At the same time, Prime Minister José Maria Neves was re-elected leader of the ruling ‘Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde’ (PAICV). During a visit to the archipelago, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Cape Verde as an African success story. Tourism, the mainstay of the economy, was affected by the global economic crisis, but recovered in the second half of the year.
One year before the legislative elections scheduled for 6 February 2011, Prime Minister José Maria Neves (‘Partido Africano de Independência de Cabo Verde’, PAICV) conducted a minor cabinet reshuffle to improve his government’s image. The country strengthened ties with Europe and regional partners in both the Atlantic archipelagos and Africa. The government successfully presented the country as a reliable and relevant partner in several international forums. The important tourism industry began to recover from its decline in the previous year. New investments were concentrated in banking and infrastructure, particularly renewable energy sources.
In February Prime Minister José Maria Neves became the first Cape Verdean head of government to win three consecutive absolute majorities in parliament. In August, however, the candidate of the ruling party surprisingly lost the presidential election to Jorge Carlos Fonseca, an independent candidate backed by the opposition. Consequently, for the first time since the democratic transition in 1991, the president and the prime minister now came from different political parties. As a result of the turmoil in North Africa, the archipelago’s tourism sector benefited from a significant increase in the number of foreign visitors, but the approval of two reduced budgets nevertheless reflected the impact of the international financial crisis on Cape Verde.
One year after its defeat in the legislative elections, the opposition ‘Movimento para a Democracia’ (MpD) won the municipal elections on 1 July with 46.3% of the votes and increased the number of municipalities it held from 11 to 13. Despite the international crisis, the number of tourists increased by 12.3% in comparison with 2011. The strengthening of relations with China, the US and the EU resulted in the granting of additional bilateral aid and, in the case of the EU, a visa facilitation agreement, the first for an African country.