Snakes in paradise

Today is Sunday and I have just been to church. I say the same prayers, acts of contrition and thanksgiving for a good life of relative peace, comfort and harmony. The piece of paradise we discovered a year ago is undeniably one of God's best creation. The history of Cape Verde has not been an easy one. It was a port for slavery which accounted for over a century of misery and human tragedy.

Despite the painful memories of those slave trade years and the extremely hostile weather that battered the islands with fearsome force that wiped out any vegetation, thus causing famine with the regularity of the seasonal changes, the Cape Verdeans are a sturdy, friendly people who don't blame anyone for their their historical pains.

And we saw, we were conquered by its beauty and decided to live a dual residence in Stockholm and in Sta. Maria, Sal Island. The condominium where we bought our flat - with best oceanview in the whole town of rising condominium complexes, is called Porto Antigo 11 ( there is 1 and 111 ) and the developer are Italians.

Porto Antigo is the most expensive of all the condominium areas and has a well-cared garden and swimming pool. Majority of the condominium owners are British and Italians, and then comes other Europeans such as Belgians, Portuguese and Germans. The Italians have a big presence in Cape Verde and are behind some major property development projects.

We have the misfortune of having an Italian administrator who cannot manage and has allowed debts of some owners to pile up until the condominium finances could no longer pay for the water and electricity. Because he has allowed the situation to get so bad without proper communication with the owners, and because his handling of the finances lacks transparency- he just decided to shut down or allowed Electra- the state-owned water and electricity company - to shut down the water/electricity supply to whole complex (Porto Antigo 2). That was last Feb. 10 and until this writing, the residents still have no water.

There is much to say about the lack of competence and efficiency in condominium management here in Sta. Maria, Sal Island. Porto Antigo is an example of what seems an endemic disease with Southern Europeans who are a majority among investors in property development in Cape Verde. There is lack of transparency in finances - where our money paid in monthly fees actually goes. There is no yearly accounting of income and expenditures that is made available to homeowners. And apparently homeowners in debt don't get collection letters with warning of interest rate added to their existing debts. Some homeowners rent out their flats without bothering to pay their fees.

This morning, the coordinator of the homeowners, Mr Van Baarlem - a Dutch living in Amsterdam who also owns an apartment in Porto Antigo 2, discovered that someone vandalised his door. The keyhole was filled with glue and he could not open it and so the police came to inspect. He and his wife have just arrived from Amsterdam but due to the water shortage were forced to hire another flat in Sta. Maria.

We who are coming from Sweden are a minority here and we find it too impossible to believe that someone could close down water supply for everybody - even those who are fully paid with their monthly fees. Water is essential to life and health. For ten days, residents have been fetching water from the swimming pool to clean toilets. This Italian manager has no idea of the tremendous health hazard he has exposed the whole island due to bad hygiene. I cannot forget that the bird flu epidemic in Hongkong started from unhygienic toilets.

While Cape Verde needs foreign investment to develop its full potential especially in tourism, it suffers from a lack of sound management politically and economically. Its business rules are not simplified and Europeans making a fortune in this island impose their own laws with impunity . It is hard to believe how this Italian administrator - who belongs to the family trying to promote property sales and occupancy in Porto Antigo could mindlessly kill the good chances of Sal Island to prosper in tourism residence though reckless ignorance of the effects of an act, so criminal and disgusting - not to mention uncivilised. For is it not uncivilised to deny water to people especially those who pay their dues on time.

I feel sorry for the Cape Verdeans here in Sta. Maria who are friendly and want more tourists to come so that they can sell things, have jobs in the hotels and transport, sell fishes they catch everyday, have people eating in the restaurants and bars. But if there were Mussolinis running condominium complexes here, then Europeans who want sunny and peaceful days could easily move to other places where things are managed better.

Why I am writing this topic in my blog is simple. I see our situation here in Sta Maria, Sal Island as a microcosm of the economic dilemma of certain Southern European countries. That many take for granted the importance and integrity of financial transparency. When the financial crisis took place in 2008, we know exactly which European economies went nearly bankrupt were it not for the acute assistance extended by international and European financial institutions.#