The São Toméan Minister for Infrastructure, Adelino Cardoso, resigned from his post on Tuesday January 2, following controversy over the concession of public company services, involving the name of the President of the Republic, and contested by workers.
“My resignation is the result of deep reflection and careful consideration, in the full knowledge that, with this action, I am contributing to the resolution of a significant part of a cyclical problem. My decision is immediate and irreversible,” said Adelino Cardoso in the press release.
The resigning minister says that the latest events that have been made public, “especially as a result of the interventions in public companies” under the supervision of the Ministry of Infrastructure “take away the comfort needed to continue the work” that he intended to carry out.
Adelino Cardoso says that he has always acted “loyally and in accordance with the objectives defined in the government’s program and accepted” by the government and assumes the responsibilities that resulted from his actions.
“I understand that public office, especially political office, is not permanent, much less professional. I also understand that holding a political office only makes sense if it is based on consensus and acceptance both by those we lead and those to whom we must be accountable,” said Adelino Cardoso, in the statement released on Tuesday.
At issue is a “public-private partnership agreement” for the operational management of the services of São Tomé’s National Port Administration Company (Enaport), dated December 20, signed between the government, represented by the minister who has now resigned, the director of Enaport, Hamilton de Sousa, and the representative of the company Africa Global Logistics (AGL), Pierre-François Pioriou.
According to the contract, contested by Enaport officials, AGL, a simplified joint stock company registered in France, “enters into this agreement only as a shareholder of the operating company”, which will be “incorporated under the laws of São Tomé and Príncipe, whose registered office will be in São Tomé”.
The agreement is signed “for a period of five years”, renewable for the same period or another, and provides that during its term “the operator will have the exclusive right to provide services at the terminal”, which includes “the quay, the yard and the equipment for the purpose of providing services at the port” of this island country.