Sao Tome: PM asks judges to review airport fees in ongoing spat with president

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Sao Tome: PM asks judges to review airport fees in ongoing spat with president

3:07 CAT | 23 Dec 2024

File photo: Inácio Rosa/Lusa

The prime minister of Sao Tome and Principe, Patrice Trovoada, has asked the country’s Constitutional Court to review the rules being implemented under a government resolution to increase airport taxes that faced a veto from the president, who has said that he is working to annul the document.

“I told the president that in view of all the interpretations, some noise, some political exploitation, the government would ask the Constitutional Court to rule on whether there had been a violation of the constitution, usurpation of undue powers by the government, so that all this is clarified,” said Trovoada, in a video published on the government’s Facebook page, posted before he left the country on a private trip.

According to the prime minister, “the president didn’t disagree” and thought that “it was a good idea” – which is why the government did so on Thursday, making it public on Friday, via a news release – although this was not shared as usual on the government’s official page, nor was it sent out to media organisations.

“The matter is before the courts today, so I’m not going to make any pronouncements since it’s before the courts; I’m going to wait serenely for the Constitutional Court to guide us on this issue and its decision will be the decision we will abide by, in fact it obliges us all,” said the prime minister.

Trovoada’s reaction follows statements by the head of state, Carlos Vila Nova, who said on Saturday that he is working to annul the resolution because he considers that it would “difficult for people” if applied.

“I say this so that all citizens know: I am working to annul the resolution that applies the taxes,” he said.

The resolution approved by the government, in the face of a political (that is, not definitive) veto by the head of state, would increase the Regulatory Fee from €18.16 to €20, the Security Fee from €4.74 to €28, and created a new Aeronautical Development Fee of €62, to be charged on flights to and from Sao Tome, totalling €220 for a return flight.

For flights between the islands of Sao Tome and Príncipe, the fees were set at €32 per passenger; according to the prime minister, that represents a reduction of around 40%.

The new rates were applied against the wishes of the president, who stressed that he did not promulgate the legislation through which the government intended to introduce the measure, because he considered “that the rates and values expressed therein were high and that they would harm people’s lives in some way” and that was why he was surprised that the executive chose to go ahead with a resolution.

Vila Nova urged the government to reconsider the decision and find “alternative measures so as not to make life even more expensive for citizens, nor to create constraints on the development of tourism” but the request was not heeded and the measure came into force on 1 December.

“There is no negotiation with the government and within my powers I will work to have the resolution cancelled soon,” Vila Nova said when questioned by journalists on Saturday at the end of his participation in the mass in honour of St. Thomas the Mighty, patron saint of Sao Tome and Príncipe.

Trovoada reacted a few hours later: “As for the statements [made by the president] you must realise that I can’t and shouldn’t comment.”

All the opposition parties have challenged the government’s resolution, and the Basta Movement has filed an injunction with the Supreme Court of Justice in its guise of the Administrative Court to annul the document before it comes into force, but so far the judges have not ruled on the matter.

A group of lawyers filed a complaint with the Public Prosecution Service asking for the prime minister to be held responsible for alleged malfeasance, for increasing airport taxes by resolution, amending a previous decree-law.

Source: Lusa