The Câmara Municipal do Maio launches a public land scheme for social housing

An official answer to a familiar problem

Municipal plots are being transferred at prices well below market rates.

The terms of the scheme

Plots are offered at around 150,000 CVE in return for building within a set period.

Part of a wider plan

It forms part of a more ambitious urban and tourism development plan for the island.

Caution among sector specialists

They are calling for the scheme to be matched by investment in water, electricity and access roads.

Who can apply?

The council has set income and residency criteria for access to the plots, giving priority to families registered in the municipality for at least several years who do not already own a home. Municipal sources explain that the aim is to prevent plots ending up in the hands of speculators who would resell them without building. Applicants must also submit an outline design for the house before the transfer is completed. According to the council itself, the number of applications received so far already exceeds the plots available in this first phase.

A model already tested on other islands

Similar schemes transferring public land at reduced prices have been tried with varying success in other municipalities in Cabo Verde, particularly in Santiago and São Vicente. The specialists consulted cite those experiences as a reference point, both for what has worked and for the mistakes to avoid, above all delays in providing basic services to new residential areas. The Câmara Municipal do Maio says it has taken these lessons into account in designing the scheme. Even so, it acknowledges that the resources available on the island are smaller than in the municipalities it is looking to.

Building deadlines and municipal oversight

Recipients will have a set period in which to build the house, after which the council reserves the right to reverse the transfer if work has not begun. The clause is intended to stop plots being held as a simple store of value without serving their social purpose. Municipal technical services will monitor the work, making periodic visits to check on the progress of each project. The council expects most of the plots to have at least their foundations laid within the first year.

How residents have reacted

Among residents of Vila do Maio the initiative has been largely welcomed, though not without scepticism about how far it will actually go. Several residents interviewed appreciate that it is a concrete response to a problem they have been flagging for years, while regretting that the number of plots available remains small set against existing demand. Others insist the scheme's success will depend on whether the investment in water, electricity and access roads that specialists are calling for actually materialises. The council has replied that both strands, the transfer of land and the provision of services, will be carried out in step with each other.