A renowned social media provider is keeping an eye on the Cape Verdean capital

João Cardoso serves as a conduit between four neighborhoods that were supposed to serve as commercial districts in Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, in the center of a social housing area but which looks more like a war zone.

Getting inside is easy: the frames are torn out, glass shards are everywhere, among the plumbing torn from the floor and broken – traces of vandalism in Vila Vitoria, Achada Limpo, an urban development of the last decade.

“I received complaints from residents about the degradation of this premises to see if anyone could do something,” describes the 62-year-old civil engineer, who has run a Facebook page called “Provedor da Praia CV” since 2016. .

“I am not a provider, I am the administrator of a page called Provedor da Praia, but the truth is that people call me a provider,” he explains to Lusa after 18 months in a new phase of work as a non-profit organization. association with the same name and principle: “Citizenship without politics”.

“It’s been gratifying, I’ve seen the results and I feel satisfied” every time a situation is resolved after being reported on the page, “as a result of residents’ input,” he says.

Today, a well-known social media provider hopes to make a difference in the abandoned and vandalized neighborhoods of Vila Vitoria because “the country cannot afford to spend money here. Even a rich country, not to mention Cape Verde, which relies heavily on aid.” from international partners and who continue to need decent housing.”

The area was built as part of the Casa para Todos project, promoted by Portuguese foundations since 2010 and which has built around 5,000 houses to combat the housing shortage in Cape Verde.

Izolindo Costa, 58, lived with his wife and son in Vila Vitoria for four years and witnessed the degradation of the premises, which were never occupied until “the boys started destroying what was there.”

Without security or other intervention, what remains today are walls that also require repairs: “It would be better to build a football field,” he suggests.

“Now they can subdivide the neighborhoods” into houses and “give them to other families in need of housing,” the resident adds.

Next door, a municipal gardener joins the conversation, clearing bushes, to reinforce the idea: someone needs to do something.

A source from Imobiliária, Fundiária e Habitat (IFH, public real estate) tells Lusa that several formulas have been tested to provide premises, but to no avail, and that ensuring private security is not possible, and he regrets that the community has not been able to preserve them.

Meanwhile, a subsidized rental solution has been created for non-governmental organizations (NGOs), religious organizations and councils, which should lead to the delivery of Vila Vitoria blocks in the coming months, the same source added – however experience has made commercial blocks of this type no longer being built in new residential complexes of social housing.

Praya’s ombudsman page promises to continue to pay attention to the complaints of those living there and in the rest of the capital: one of the latest publications draws attention to the other side of the city, to the Cidadela district, where full trucks unload construction waste in front of residential buildings.

“The dumping of rubble begins early in the morning and continues throughout the day until night falls and residents are unable to open the doors or windows of their homes,” the supplier complains, re-posting videos that blatantly depict the situation.

But the page also contains simpler subjects, such as a road sign obscured by a tree or a construction site disrupting pedestrian traffic – problems that are shown to usually be resolved after publication.