Cape Verde is currently one of the poorest countries in the world. Although it has been termed a “lucky country” for its relatively low level of poverty, this does not mean that things are easy for its people. In fact, it is estimated that some 60 percent of the country’s population lives in poverty.
The challenge is even greater due to the country’s geography and remoteness, which make it difficult to access – as well as because of its low economic growth and limited economic diversification. Even though much progress has been made over the last decade in tackling poverty through two key policies: Economic Growth Acceleration Programme (GAP) and National Food Security Programme (FSP). However, additional efforts will be necessary to close remaining gaps in order to fully achieve poverty reduction goals.
Cape Verde is currently one of the poorest countries in the world. Although it has been termed a “lucky country” for its relatively low level of poverty, this does not mean that things are easy for its people. In fact, it is estimated that some 60 percent of the country’s population lives in poverty. The challenge is even greater due to the country’s geography and remoteness, which make it difficult to access – as well as because of its low economic growth and limited economic diversification. Even though much progress has been made over the last decade in tackling poverty through two key policies: Economic Growth Acceleration Programme (GAP) and National Food Security Programme (FSP). However, additional efforts will be necessary to close remaining gaps in order to fully achieve poverty reduction goals.
Economic Growth Acceleration Programme (GAP)
GAP was the principal mechanism for promoting economic growth in Cape Verde from 2001 to 2006. Launched in 2001, it aimed at reducing the country’s rate of growth from its projected 6 percent to 5 percent. The programme ran for six years and was based on the following principles: turn a country’s low-level growth into high-level growth, accelerate the rate of growth of the Cape Verde economy, generate jobs, increase the incomes of the poorest 20 percent of the population, increase exports, and improve the business environment. To achieve the growth acceleration goal, GAP focused on improving the business environment, increasing domestic resource mobilization, eliminating bottlenecks to trade, and improving the efficiency of public expenditure.
National Food Security Programme (FSP)
FSP is a rural development programme that aims to increase rural food security and improve the nutrition status of children and women in the country. The programme provides food for each beneficiary family for a period of 12 months. Beneficiaries are entitled to: – 35 kilograms of cereals and legumes per person per month – 20 litres of oil or sugar per person per month – 100 grams of meat per person per month – Approximately 2 cups of milk per person per day – Vegetables, fruit, and other essential items are also included. Under FSA, beneficiaries are also provided with a micro-enterprise that can be used to earn extra income or to improve food security. Moreover, beneficiaries are provided with livestock, seeds, farming equipment, and other supplies.
Closing Gaps in the Strategy
There are some key issues related to the implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy that merit attention. Despite progress made in the implementation of the GAP and FSP strategies, several key gaps in implementation remain. First, the strategy lacks a clear and comprehensive plan for monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on its progress. This is mainly because the strategy does not contain any specific metrics for measurement. The strategy does, however, refer to macroeconomic goals for poverty reduction – for example, reducing the number of people living in poverty to 39 percent by 2020. However, the strategy does not include any specific metrics for quantifying progress towards these goals. For example, the strategy does not specify how the current percentage of 39 percent was arrived at and what factors have contributed to the high level of poverty in the country. Second, the strategy lacks a clear and comprehensive plan for coordination among development actors. This is mainly because the strategy relies on the private sector to carry out a large part of the development agenda. However, the private sector has shown little capacity to carry out the country’s development agenda. This is mainly because of the weak business environment and poor infrastructure. Poverty reduction efforts, therefore, have had to compete with other development priorities that are critical to economic growth. Third, there are limited resources available for poverty reduction. This is mainly because the government has few revenues from the oil sector to invest in direct poverty reduction programmes. Furthermore, the government is struggling to maintain the necessary level of expenditures for basic services, such as education and health, due to the decline in oil revenues.
Conclusion
Although the Cape Verde Poverty Reduction Strategy has made important progress in reducing poverty in the country, some key issues remain. These include a lack of clear and comprehensive plans for measuring and analyzing the strategy’s progress, limited resources available for poverty reduction, and the weak business environment and poor infrastructure. This calls for an intensified effort to fully implement the strategy and close remaining gaps.