Cabo Verde Government Accuses Opposition of Distorting IMF Clarification on Budget Discrepancy

The Cabo Verdean government has accused the opposition party, MpD, of distorting a technical clarification from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to attack the Prime Minister, Francisco Carvalho. The Executive asserts that the MpD is attempting to frame the IMF's explanation as a refutation of the Prime Minister's statements, thereby evading the issue of a significant discrepancy in public accounts. The government clarified that the IMF did not contradict its position but rather explained the scope of its recent technical mission to Cabo Verde, which took place between April 27 and May 8. During this mission, the government presented its new governance priorities and discussed the preparation of a Revised Budget, along with the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework and macroeconomic estimates for 2026. It was within this technical review that a difference of 8.336 billion escudos was identified between the initially approved state budget of 95.675 billion escudos and the budget in execution, which had risen to approximately 104.011 billion escudos by June due to budgetary amendments. This 8.7% increase over the initial budget formed the basis for the Revised Budget. The government also noted that the IMF stated it did not have access to the data required to identify this budget overrun during its visit, indicating that the absence of an earlier assessment does not negate the overrun itself. The Executive reiterated that the IMF did not dispute the figures presented by the Prime Minister or deny the identified difference, emphasizing that attributing a denial to the Fund is inaccurate. The government reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, good governance, and cooperation with strategic partners like the IMF and the World Bank. André Roncaglia, Cabo Verde's Executive Director at the IMF, provided a positive assessment of the visit, expressing increased hope and confidence in the country's "fantastic trajectory."