"In the last five years we have invested more in Health than in Education, to be honest, but now that we have stabilized we will put more energy into Education, in combination with investment in infrastructure", said Vera Daves de Sousa at the African Budget Forum, organized this Tuesday by the IMF, answering the question about how to balance public spending with budgetary restraint.
"The challenge is to improve the business environment to attract Foreign Direct Investment", said the minister, recognizing that, "on paper, the conditions are there, but in practice they need to be there too" and pointing out improvements in public administration and digitalization as important to attract foreign investors.
At the Forum, opened by the former Minister of Finance of Portugal and director of the IMF's budget department, Vitor Gaspar, Vera Daves de Sousa argued that international support is important to relaunch the development of African countries, but recognized that the homework needs to be.
"International support should be provided, it should be objective, the criteria for analyzing and classifying both developing and developed countries should be fair and objective and will help us work on that basis, but governments must do their part, mobilizing more revenue, making good choices, managing debt well and being transparent about good governance and the active fight against corruption", said Vera Daves de Sousa.
For the governor, budget support initiatives, such as the debt service suspension initiative or mechanisms to combat excessive debt, will not be sufficient without African governments approving budget control measures themselves.
"It's our responsibility, we have to do it ourselves. Restructuring, debt forgiveness, international aid, nothing will be enough without this, and we must do our part", she highlighted, also challenging citizens to contribute, particularly the most rich, who should think about where they put their savings, whether in international banks or in African banks, she concluded.
