Washington, DC — "In African countries at-large there is not close attention being given to countries that have good government," Cape Verde Prime Minister, Jose Maria Neves said Thursday in an interview with AllAfrica.com.
"Usually, developed countries and their institutions come to the rescue of countries in times of catastrophes, in times of conflict, or come to provide aid assistance in difficult times. As soon as they see the country not in the difficult situation, they withdraw from that country and go to another country in a situation of catastrophe."
The prime minister offered the issue of debt - a burden that drains the coffers of nations across Africa - as an example. Responsible countries like Cape Verde, he says, "should be rewarded." And one reward would be some debt relief.
Neves says Cape Verde's debt service is "a heavy load, representing more than five percent of the state budget." That money, he argues, could be better used in development and social services. According to the International Monetary Fund, Cape Verde's budget deficit is expected to increase in 2007, although it forecasts an economic growth rate of 5.5 percent.
But Cape Verde is not eligible for such relief - penalized, the Prime Minister says, precisely because his country is governed so well. Among other things, it services its debt on time.
Direct foreign investment is still limited, as well, says Neves, although he is pinning much hope on the development of the nation, which consists of 10 islands and eight smaller islets off Africa's Atlantic coast, as an international transportation hub and communications center. The country is slightly larger than the U.S. state of Rhode Island, with a population of 507,000.
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A large new airport on the outskirts of Porto Novo, Africa's western-most point and a major port, is planned. The government has also received a US$14 million Millennium Challenge Account grant for the construction of water reservoirs on the islands of Santo Antão, Fogo and São Nicolau.
During a luncheon at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the Prime Minister suggested that the United States and other developed nations are, in fact, in debt to his small country. Citing Cape Verde's role as host of NATO's first military exercises in Africa - called Steadfast Jaguar - Neves said, "We provide security for the Atlantic region - Europe and the United States."
Links between Cape Verde and the United States reach back to 1818, with the appointment of the first American Consul. In 1843, the U.S. Navy's first anti-slave trading patrol - the African Squadron - patrolled west African waters from a base at Cape Verde. A large Cape Verdian community has settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
And even though he wishes for a bigger payback, the prime minister - when asked what this expanded military presence might have cost Cape Verde - says his country gained from the NATO exercises: "Our profile rose dramatically - 450 Germans visited who had never heard of Cape Verde before. We [also] came away with greater security."
Make no mistake, Neves says, that the good governance for which his nation is widely recognized, in Africa and around the world, is a valuable resource. "We have no gold, no diamonds and no oil - our 'oil' is good governance...[and] it is fundamental for Africa."
