The Government of Cabo Verde must approve a revised State Budget by next June, following the expected “strong economic recession” due to the Covid-19 pandemic, prime minister Ulisses Correia e Silva said recently.

The prime minister told Portuguese news agency Lusa that the macro-economic scenario drawn up by the Ministry of Finance team and validated by the mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), points to a strong economic recession in 2020 in Cabo Verde, “similarly to what is happening on a global level.”

Cabo Verde is dependent on revenue from tourism, with more than 800,000 tourists per year and annual economic growth that has exceeded 5.0%, but is already preparing for the recession, due to the pandemic caused by new coronavirus.

“The impact on tax revenue will be strong, due to the collapse of activity in the tourism industry,” admitted Ulisses Correia e Silva.

The prime minister added that a meeting of the Social Consultation Council had been convened during which the government will “present a set of mitigation measures to support companies and provide protection to workers.”

Cabo Verde welcomed over 819,000 tourists in 2019, an increase of 7.0% compared with 2018, when it received over 765,600 tourists, and overnight stays exceeded 5.1 million, compared with 4.9 million in 2018, a growth rate of 3.7%. (macauhub)