- Cape Verdean President Pedro Pires swore in the archipelago's new government this morning in Praia. The ceremony, which marked the beginning of Prime Minister José Maria Neves' second term as the head of the government, was carried out at the Presidential Palace in Praia's central Plateau district.
The Prime Minister announced the makeup of the new executive yesterday. The cabinet has doubled its female presence compared to his previous government (from three to six ministers). Further main changes included five new sectors of governance - the Sea, Higher Education, Family, Housing and Territorial Ordering - and four new state secretaries.
The Sea, Higher Learning, Family, Housing and Territorial Ordering are the new areas of governance included among the responsibilities of the 14 ministers who make up the new cabinet. Of the new state secretaries named, two will work under the coordination of the Minister of Finances and Public Administration, while the others will be responsible for the agriculture and education sectors.
Sara Lopes as the Prime Minister's Adjunct Minister and Minister of Qualification and Employment, Rosa Fortes, as State Secretary of Agriculture, and Leonesa Fortes, as Adjunct Secretary to the Minister of Finances and Public Administration, are the new female names in the government line-up.
Another characteristic of the new governing structure lies in the fact that several ministers will see a reduction in the number of areas for which they respond, while others will see the number of sectors under their responsibility increase. For example, the area run by Manuel Inocêncio Sousa, currently the Ministry of Infrastructures and Transportation, will now be the Ministry of Infrastructures, Transportation and the Sea. Cristina Fontes, who will leave the Justice Ministry to become the Prime Minister's Adjunct Minister, will also be responsible for State Reform and National Defense.
A number of cabinet "rookies" also appear in the new government line-up, including Justice Minister José Manuel Andrade, State Public Administration Secretary Romeu Modesto and State Education Secretary Octávio Tavares.
Prime Minister Neves was able to form a new government after his PAICV narrowly won the 22 January elections. The new parliament was sworn in Praia on 28 February in a ceremony that was marked by the opposition MpD party's objections to the electoral process.
The representatives from Africa electoral circle in the Praia parliament have yet to be sworn in as the election among the large Cape Verdean Diaspora in other African countries had been found too irregular. In particular the organisation of the vote in São Tomé and Príncipe was found to be chaotic. Cape Verde's Supreme Court has ruled that the elections would have to be repeated at a number of polling stations in São Tomé.
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