CAPE VERDE’S INFRASTRUCTURE: A CONTINENTAL PERSPECTIVE variety of different paving technologies (mainly _calçada de paralelos,_ and _calçada Portuguesa_ **—** a local form of cobblestone); most of its paved roads are not conventional asphalt roads.

**Table 2. Cape Verde’s road network, 2005**

||Total length<br>(kms)|C<br>|ondition (%)|||Surface (%)<br>||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||Good|Fair|Poor|Paved<sup>*</sup>|Gravel|Earth|
|National|1,002|25.0|23.1|52.0|73.7|12.4|14.0|
|Santiago|364|16.8|8.7|74.5|55.6|6.1|38.3|
|Santo Antao|196|47.6|31.0|21.4|97.6|2.4|0.0|
|Fogo|169|40.0|16.8|43.2|72.6|14.7|12.6|
|S. Nicolau|95|63.4|36.6|0.0|100.0|0.0|0.0|
|Maio|48|13.3|6.7|80.0|76.7|16.7|6.7|
|S. Vicente|42|43.8|25.0|31.3|100.0|0.0|0.0|
|Sal|41|25.8|28.8|45.3|70.9|17.3|11.8|
|Boavista|30|8.3|28.4|63.3|78.1|17.2|4.7|
|Brava|17|0.0|17.6|82.4|100.0|0.0|0.0|
|Others|605|10.4|19.5|70.1|23.8|29.4|46.8|
|Total|1,607|19.5|21.7|58.8|54.9|18.8|26.3|

_Source:_ Instituto da Estrada—Roads Agency of Cape Verde.

_Note:_ * Paved roads cover a number of technologies, including _betao bituminso, bicouche, calçada de paralelos, and calçada Portuguesa_ ( _s_ ome of which are local forms of cobblestone). Few paved roads are conventional asphalt roads.

# **Challenges**

At least half of the national network is in poor condition, according to data reported by the national road institute for the mid-2000s. A more recent, 2008 transport strategy document suggests that this share may have risen to nearly 70 percent. The quality of the network varies considerably across the country. For instance, while the network in San Nicolau appears to be almost entirely in good or fair condition, about three-quarters of the network in Santiago is reported to be in poor condition. Overall, the situation suggests that Cape Verde’s policy of extending the network to low-density areas, in which economic returns are low, may have raised maintenance costs to an unsustainable level, or that this maintenance may not have been planned or accounted for.

Despite the establishment of a road maintenance fund, securing adequate funds for network preservation has proved to be _a_ challenge. A new road maintenance fund became operational in 2006, implemented by a mechanism that transfers the taxation proceeds from the point of collection directly to the fund for use by the road institute. The accounts of the fund are public, and accountability ensured. The fund is maintained at a minimum—guaranteed by the Treasury—of CVE 300 million, or just under $4 million. In 2006 customs transferred taxes to the road maintenance fund, while in 2007 and 2008 the fund was subsidized by the Treasury, albeit at a level below the guaranteed rate. In 2009 the Council of Ministers approved a fuel levy of CVE 7 per liter, equivalent to around $0.09. This is a mid-range levy when compared to others observed in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The road agency has tended to overreach its maintenance role by managing the construction of new roads. The mandate of the road agency is to maintain the national road network. The government legislated that public works should always be procured, coordinated, and supervised by the line ministry.

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