Management of the Rains in Cape-Verde, a Saga of Unaccountability and Recklessnes:

 

 

In a post I wrote some 4 years ago, on the challenges faced by the emigrants, I mentioned, among other things, the absence of basic infrastructures  in  central areas of the town where I live, which, by the way, have also been earmarked important tourist attractions. If, in aesthetic terms, the absence of an urban policy, worthy  of the name, would make any tourist flee the place as fast as they possibly could ,  in  practical terms, the indifference of the local authorities towards the citizens and their quality of life, is beyond the grasp of anyone who has experienced other ways of life and knows that a dignified way of life is not only possible but a Human right.  

The post said:

... « The road that leads to this new urban development - ... right in the middle of the city,  is extremely dangerous, a danger to which the local authorities have already been alerted, on several occasions. There is no visibility, none whatsoever, at the entrance or exit of the road, which means that the probability of a frontal collision between vehicles is high and permanent. On one side of the road, quite narrow and rough, lies a ravine at the bottom of which is a school.  This means that if a car or two crash down there, only the drivers will die, at best. Worse case scenario, they will take a few kids, along with them. And yes, the local authorities  have been informed and warned several times." ..

What was said in the post, some four years ago, not only remains true but it is getting 
worse,  by the day. But it is all” water off a duck’s back” as far as the local authorities
 are concerned. This is nothing less than unashamed and blatant dereliction of duty. 
These duties – enshrined in the laws on Basic Sanitation and Territorial Planning and 
Urbanism - imply, inter-alia, the obligation o ensuring that the plots of land sold, are 
properly urbanized, that is, with minimal infrastructure. These include; safe roads, 
electricity, basic sanitation (water supply, sanitation, urban cleaning, urban drainage, 
solid waste and rainwater management. 

Despite the constant requests and endless reminders, the local authorities  remain absolutely indifferent to the pleas and plights of the population.

Last week,  after the first rains, a huge hole opened up in front of one of the buildings as a result of  a significative landslide on one side of the road, endangering the stability of the building and the lives of the residents. The fence around the school’s courtyard, at the bottom of the ravine which was being held by a thread, due to the pressure of the piling soil, eventually collapsed.  Lucky there weren't any students around, at the time.  From the sewers, just a few yards from one of the town’s main beaches, rose an excruciating stench.  To complete this disgraceful and apocalyptic picture, the square was transformed into a swamp of mud and debris, including a large quantity of plastic. The perfect setup for a cholera party.

Without any infrastructure and looking more like a huge bog than anything else,  most of the neighbours and builders use the squalid-looking square as an open-air bathroom for their pets and a dumpster for domestic trash. It is not unusual to see plastic bags, floating about, cans, bottles,  nappies and cardboards littering the whole place, and rolling down the ghastly-looking slope until they eventually reach the ocean.    

I wish it was an isolated case, though.  However,  a small trip through the city is enough to show the level of damage caused, not by the rainfall - as some might have it - but by  the sheer indolence, mediocrity, incompetence and irresponsibility of the authorities. And guess what? No questions asked and no accountability expected.

But who will be paying the bill? Who will be held responsible for the poor management of this island?  Instead of using the meager financial resources   - the crumbs thrown at  S.Vicente by the capital - to invest in the development of the island, these are used to fill the holes already a thousand times filled.  The same faulty roads, the same river beds, the same drainage systems. Building new roads, extend the sanitation services, electricity; build safer neighbourhoods,  install wider and stronger internet, build decent parks for children? With what, if we use the scant financial resources to do and re-do the same things, endlessly? It is like being tangled in an evil Gordian knot.

But  it's not just an  inconceivable financial mismanagement or poor management  of public funds.  This is a criminal management  in  a poor country where every penny should count.  This is a crime is against taxpayers, whose contributions  are being ill-used;  it is against the indigent whose daily plights are  ignored;  it is against the students of that school, it is against the residents of  slums  and it is against humanity and the Earth,  because the ocean is  not only ours. 

Meanwhile, as our leaders parade around the world; at the United Nations, the European 
Union, Asia and Africa, making grand statements, signing agreements  and   adhering to 
initiatives aimed at promoting development  , protecting the environment, committing  to 
adopt action plans to reduce  risks of disasters,  the reality is, unsurprisingly, the reverse. 

Against all common sense, the collective interests and in spite of the commitments made at
national  and   international levels, local authorities keep authorizing constructions in old
streams, by the sea,  on hillsides, where the  risks of landslide are  tremendously high. 
Neither tsunamis nor the hurricanes, of the last few years, have, astonishingly, struck a
chord with them. 

After each rainfall episode, which occur, roughly, every 3 to 5 years, the scenario remains the same: on the one hand, floods, landslides, fatalities, displaced persons … and, on the other hand, "poncespilatean-like authorities who wash their hands and look the other WAY,  blaming, I am sure,  some hypothetical angry divinity. What else?

One thing is certain, we cannot accuse our politicians of being totally deprived of an excellent sense of humour. The failures, are more in the scope of competence, responsibility, empathy,  lack of values and total shamelessness. In fact, all the qualities that make the difference between a mercenary and a Man  of State, between an ordinary person and a Tzadik.  It actually makes a world of difference.

Most unfortunately the media, the representatives of international organizations and diplomatic representations in this country, seem to have been afflicted by two major and irreversible pathologies, precluding them from seeing and denouncing such bad governance practices, in this country: blindness and indifference.  I wonder that the WHO has not yet taken any measures!!! Confining to avoid wide-spread contamination might be required.

And since the populations seem to have been diagnosed with another very serious illness known as: "who cares?", we are far from being out of the woods.