The Prime Minister of Cabo Verde (Cape Verde), José Maria Neves, has announced a reduction in public investments on the archipelago, during a ceremony to celebrate the day of the municipality of Ribeira Grande de Santiago, according to the Cape Verdean press.

At the end of another assessment mission, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team recommended that the Cape Verdean government take a moderate approach to its expenditure in 2014 and adopt a budget consolidation programme that is more ambitious in the medium term.

The head of the mission, Andrea Richter Hume, said that the IMF had recommended moderation in expenditure as it considered the State Budget for 2014 to be “expansionist” given high levels of public debt and risks to the archipelago’s economic growth.

In response Neves said in his speech given on 31 January that “we have, from now on, gradually to reduce public investments, improve the efficiency of public administration, improve the business climate and encourage development of the private sector, which will take the leadership of the growth process.” (macauhub)