2007年VOA标准英语-Aid-Dependent Cape Verde Courts Investors

By Phuong Tran
Praia, Cape¹ Verde
09 March 2007

Located far off the western coast of Africa, the tiny islands that make up Cape Verde are mostly barren volcanic² rock.  But the lack of natural resources has actually benefited the country in one way: it has been able to attract donor³ money. By the end of this year, according to the U.N., Cape Verde is expected to officially join the ranks of medium-developed countries.  But as Phuong Tran reports for VOA from Praia, Cape Verde, the country now faces another problem.

Cape Verde's leaders are pleased with the rising level of income, but they are also worried that they may soon be losing donations from lenders who only give money to the world's poorest countries.
 
Cape Verde's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Victor Borges, says the country still faces high poverty even though overall economic indicators⁴ are better than they used to be.

Cape Verde Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, & Communities, Victor Borges

Borges says many of the country's advances were possible only because of money from international donors⁵ and the generosity⁶ of Cape Verdeans living in other countries who send money back home.  The foreign minister says Cape Verde's economy is actually quite weak.

A major source of aid has been the International Finance Corporation (IFC) a lending organization for poor countries. Since 2001, the IFC has offered Cape Verde almost $100 million in low-interest loans to build roads and provide social services. 

But now that it is considered a middle-income country Cape Verde will no longer be eligible⁷ for these special loans.  Markus Scheuermaier, Cape Verde's IFC representative, says this poses a major challenge for what has been an aid-dependent country.

"Now that Cape Verde is actually achieving medium-income country status, it will actually have to work harder to keep some of the benefits from 30 years of independence," he explained.

Although the country has made advances, it has many problems. A U.N. poverty specialist based in Cape Verde, Gilena Andrade, says the government still needs to address high unemployment, drought, and poor transportation between the country's nine inhabited islands.

She says donors need to remember that Cape Verde is like nine countries, each with different needs. She says farmers on the smaller islands have trouble getting their produce to the bigger islands, which hurts their income.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Borges says if the country can no longer rely on outside investors⁸, it has to find a way to make money on what resources it has, such as its many kilometers of pristine⁹ beaches, which are just a few hours from western Europe.

Borges says preventing corruption¹⁰ is also a priority as Cape Verde moves toward an economy based on investments, rather than donor funds.

The minister says any time an economy opens its doors to investors, there is the possibility of new forms of corruption.  He says the government is committed to fighting corruption.

Late last year, the minister of economy Joao Pereira Silva, resigned over corruption charges on a tourism contract with a Portuguese¹¹ company on the island of Boa Vista¹².
The government cancelled the contract, but says it found no evidence of corruption.

To make itself more attractive to investors, Cape Verde recently changed its laws to speed up approval for new investments. All sectors¹³ of the country are now open to foreign investment.  The sectors with highest priority are light manufacturing, tourism and fishing.

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

3 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

4 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

5 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

7 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

8 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

9 pristine   

adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的

参考例句：

• He wiped his fingers on his pristine handkerchief.他用他那块洁净的手帕擦手指。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

12 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

13 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》