The Prime Minister of Sao Tome and Principe, Patrice Trovoada, asked this Monday what the “bonus” is for developing countries that follow democratic values compared to others that are authoritarian, but thus obviously more popular for the allocation of resources.
“If we have to ask how much it costs autocratic regimes to operate, we must also ask ourselves what bonuses are given to truly democratic countries that continue to struggle with the financial needs of their economies,” he told an international economics conference. democracy on the island of Sal, Cape Verde.
Good governance “is not limited to democracies where people put basic needs on their priority scale” such as food security, drinking water, health or safety, he said, saying the statement might seem “paradoxical”.
In this context, “non-democratic regimes often demonstrate administrative efficiency” in distributing public policies, but do so at the expense of guarantees of rights and freedoms and transparency, he said.
It’s not a path that categorizes “lack of public participation and concentration of power” as fertile ground for corruption and injustice, he said, but calls for thinking about costs and benefits when there are basic needs that need to be met.
Patrice Trovoada spoke today at the conference “Freedom, Democracy and Good Governance” organized by the Government of Cape Verde, in a panel entitled “Making Democracy Work” together with former Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa (remotely), from Deputy – Minister of Public Diplomacy of the South Korea Seok In Hong and after a recorded message from Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
The head of the government of Sao Tome also warned about the dangers of the digital world and the difficulties of determining the limits of government action in the face of disinformation.
On the one hand, he believed that it was necessary to moderate debates, but this could not develop into censorship, and on the other hand, anonymity protects those living in totalitarian regimes, but in democracies it facilitates abuses.
“Respecting our space of freedom is not easy,” he said, declaring that in this aspect, as in other aspects of governance, there is a path to follow: “More than legislating, than piling up cases in the Ministry of State, we must lead by example, based on strong ethical and moral foundations, demonstrating integrity, transparency, honesty and integrity in their actions,” he concluded.
Cape Verde’s main tourist island, Sal, will host an international conference on “Freedom, Democracy and Good Governance” organized by the archipelago government today and Tuesday.
The program will feature over 20 speakers and will conclude with the Salt Declaration on protecting human rights, promoting freedoms and good governance in Africa and the world.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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