“It is evident that with the impact of the coronavirus - and do not forget that the CPLP is present on the four continents - and with the fall in the price of oil, in some of the member states of the organisation this impact will be or is already quite accentuated”, said Ambassador Francisco Ribeiro Telles.
This fact, “will have consequences on the CPLP’s own activity, through the resources that those states provide for the functioning of the organisation itself” added the leader, in statements to Lusa.
The diplomat admitted that there may be reflections of the economic situation in terms of the “timely payment” of the obligations of each State, namely of its quotas for the CPLP budget, but “also for cooperation programmes”.
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, oil prices in international markets dropped to less than $30 a barrel, and with this the economic situation of “the vast majority of CPLP member states - namely Angola and Equatorial Guinea - it is worrying”, he stressed.
In addition to the economic situation, the executive secretary argued that it is also necessary to carefully monitor, for a few more weeks, the spread of the pandemic in the African continent, given that at present there is no “prospect of the impact that the Covid-19 may have on African countries” and only after that make decisions.
As of 15 March this year, CPLP member states owed the organisation €3.8 million in arrears, with Brazil leading in value and São Tomé and Príncipe in the number of unpaid contributions.
According to official data to which Lusa had access and released at that time, Brazil owed €1,536,907.36 for two overdue annual contributions of €768,453.68 each, one referring to 2019 and the other in relation to the current year.
In second place came Mozambique, with a total of €756,701.10 in debt to the CPLP for three arrears, relating to the years 2018, 2019 and 2020, each of €252,233.70.
But the member state with the largest number of overdue contributions was until then São Tomé and Príncipe, which did not pay the annual dues of 2018, 2019 and 2020, each of €41,808, and in addition to this, it still had €16,801,07 more, of unpaid contributions in 2017.