Africa-Press – Angola. The institutionalization of Technical Committees for Participatory Management has given the inhabitants of the four municipalities in the province of Cabinda greater possibility to decide on the projects to be carried out in their localities.
In this perspective, four Technical Committees for Participatory Management were created (Cabinda, Cacongo, Buco-Zau and Belize), composed of 11 members chosen by the communities, of which two coordinators, one being an assistant and one secretary-general.
This entire process is coordinated by the Ministry of Territorial Administration (MAT), which is responsible, through the Ministry of Finance, of allocating, annually, financial resources to each municipality and this, in turn, paying the companies that Technical Committees of Participatory Management hire to carry out work in the communities, based on the projects that are presented by the Residents’ Commissions.
“The Executive was successful in thinking about creating Technical Committees for Participatory Management, as they are contributing to the sustainable development of communities in the locations where they are located”, said Inácio Meula, member of the Technical Committee for Participatory Management of the municipality of Cabinda, the most representative of the province, judging by its population density, with around eighty percent of the region’s global population, according to statistical data from the 2014 Population Census, and also by its territorial extension.
According to Inácio Meula, it is the objective of the Technical Committees for Participatory Management to coordinate and execute small projects identified by the communities, such as, for example, public lighting, basic sanitation, gardening, among other services capable of contributing to the improvement of the quality of life. of the inhabitants.
According to Inácio Meula, among the members of the Technical Committee for Participatory Management of the host municipality (Cabinda) there is a willingness to work and find solutions to the problems that most affect the communities, despite the few financial resources that are allocated by the MAT, in the order of 25 million kwanzas per year, which he considered insufficient to overcome the concerns raised by the citizens.
“The values are insufficient! We receive, annually, only 25 million kwanzas and if we take into account the number of neighborhoods and villages in the city of Cabinda and given the volume of needs, we are not able to respond, in a timely manner, to the concerns that are placed on us by the population”, said Inácio Meula.
He added that the 25 million kwanzas that are allocated annually to the Administration of the Municipality of Cabinda, in this particular case, are not enough to solve the social problems of a single neighborhood or village, since, he reinforced, “the needs of a single locality are capable of to absorb all the available money”.
For a more effective performance of the Technical Committees of Participatory Management, aiming at the rapid development of communities, Inácio Meula defended the increase in funds, suggesting that it should be in the order of 30 or 50 million kwanzas per month, instead of being annual, and that financial autonomy should be given to these bodies, so that they can directly manage such financial resources, instead of the Municipal Administration being the managing entity, which makes the process much more time-consuming and bureaucratic.
Projects executed
The deputy administrator for the Technical Area of the municipality of Cabinda, Luís Avelino Yebo, said that the existence of Technical Committees for Participatory Management is an asset, since, since their creation, in 2019, many projects have already been carried out in various neighborhoods and villages. . He added that, in the 2020/2021 financial year, among other actions, the acquisition and placement of metallic poles for public lighting at Hospital do Chinga, the purchase of around 1,000 meters of electrical cables, lamps and other accessories for the network were carried out. of public lighting in the village of Muanafula.
Luís Avelino Yebo also underlined that, during the period mentioned, the Participatory Management Committee of the municipality of Cabinda rehabilitated the public lighting network in the village of Lucula-Zenze, bought 900 meters of electrical cables, improved public lighting in the square opposite to the seat of the commune of Malembo, including the placement of nine meters high poles.
The money allowed the purchase of three three-wheeled motorcycles to facilitate the collection of solid waste in places of difficult access, as well as the purchase of wheelchairs to support the physically handicapped at the Social Reintegration Center and the purchase of fifty books on various themes to enhance the Municipal Library of Cabinda, according to the assistant administrator for the Technical Area of the Administration of the Municipality of Cabinda.
“There are many projects that are under discussion and as soon as this phase is concluded they will be submitted for final approval”, announced Luís Avelino Yebo, for whom the Participatory Management Committee of the municipality of Cabinda, with the experience it has, “will do everything to to gradually respond to the projects proposed by the communities.
Period of allocation of funds
Luís Avelino Yebo followed the same line as that defended by Inácio Meula on the increase in financial resources, in the sense of allowing the projects proposed by the communities to be fully implemented and suggested changing the period of allocation of funds, that is, instead of from being annual, it would be changed to quarterly.
“It’s a great gymnastics that is done to reach the approval and execution of these small projects, due to the limitation of financial resources”, said Luís Avelino Yebo, reinforcing the idea that the financial resources made available to Municipal Administrations, within the scope of the Participatory Budget , should be quarterly or as projects are identified.
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