According to a 2010 report by the EIU on Cape Verde, the IMF reported “sound macroeconomic management” in its eighth and final review of the country’s policy support instrument.88 The prime minister, José Maria Neves, from the ruling African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde, has been praised for attracting substantial donor aid and foreign direct investment, both of which have driven a period of unprecedented growth, despite the effects of the global economic downturn on the service-based economy.89 The country’s strategic location in the mid-Atlantic has been enhanced by improvements in the harbours at Mindelo and Praia, and in the international airports in Sal and Praia, with new international airports opening in Boa Vista and Sao Vicente in 2007 and 2009, respectively. Still, unemployment stands at around 13.1 percent of the workforce, according to the national statistics institute. Unemployment affects urban areas more than rural areas (15.1 percent versus 9.2 percent, respectively), with high rates of unemployment in Praia (17 percent), Maio (17.8 percent) and São Vicente (19.2 percent).90 GDP is forecast to grow by 4.5 percent in 2010 and five percent in 2011.91
Information & communication technology in Cape Verde Table 8: ICT in Cape Verde • • • • • • • • •
Internet users (per 100 people): 29.7 Cell phones (per 100 people, 2009): 57.5 Personal computers (per 100 people, 2010): 29.7 ICT Price Basket (2009): 7.09 Mobile phone sub-basket as a percentage a country’s monthly GNI per capita (2009): 5.98 Rank in e-government (2010): 108 out of 184 Rank in e-participation (2010): 68 out of 179 Networked Readiness Index (2010-2011): 84 out of 138 ITU Ranking: 105 out of 161
Cape Verde’s progressive development has been attributed in part to innovations in its technological infrastructure. The country has launched many ICT initiatives that have helped to place it among the top performers in ICTs and governance in Africa.92 It ranks 108 (out of 183) on the e-Government Development Index (based on online service, telecommunications infrastructure and human capital), just above Indonesia (109) and Bangladesh (134), but below Albania (85) and Bulgaria (44). Cape Verde ranks 68 out of 179 on the e-Participation Index, outranked only by Bulgaria at 39; by comparison, Albania and Indonesia both rank 86, while Bangladesh ranks 102. In the last decade, the government has launched several e-governance-related programmes. These include the Action Plan for Electronic Governance and the Strategic Programme for the Information Society to advance digital accessibility in schools, in the health sector and in public administration, and to develop new competencies in its population. In June 2003, the government set up an Interministerial Commission for Innovation and the Information Society (Comité Interministerial para Inovação e Sociedade da Informação, known as CIISI)93 to harness the potential of ICTs in public administration. Since then, Cape Verde has developed one of the strongest ICT infrastructures in Africa, connecting 90 public administration units with 4,500 users and 3,900 computers. It has 29.7 Internet users per 100 people, remarkably high for a developing country and rivalling Bulgaria (45) and Albania (41). Its Networked Readiness Index – a composite of policy environment, readiness and usage – is 84 (out of 138), again rivalling Albania (87) and Bulgaria (68). By comparison, Indonesia’s is higher at 53, while Bangladesh’s is low at 115. On the downside, Cape Verde still faces relatively high telecommunications costs. Its ICT Price Basket – comprised of fixed telephony, mobile cellular and broadband Internet services (expressed as a percentage of average monthly GNI per capita) – is 7.09. This is one of the higher figures among the case studies, in part due to the costs of broadband and mobility. The mobile phone price basket (expressed as a percentage of per capita GNI) is the most expensive of the five cases – at 5.98, almost two percentage points higher than the next highest, Albania, at 4.18 (the lowest is Indonesia at 1.67). Cape Verde’s ITU Ranking is 105 (out of 161), based on the relative prices of the ICT Price Basket. In the long term, however, these prices may continue to drop as Cape Verde continues to grow and ICT access spreads (see Table 8 and Annex 1 for a comparison of ICT indicators by country).
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