Africa-Press – Angola. The Minister of Finance, Vera Daves de Sousa, reiterated this Sunday in Lisbon, Portugal, that the agreement recently signed in Washington with the World Bank provides for the financing of several municipalities in the country, upon presentation of good compliance rates of assisted programs.
In an interview broadcast by RTP África, the Angolan official said that the agreement with the World Bank to finance municipalities “is the way to institutionalize municipalities”, serving to strengthen capacity and carry out territorial and urban planning and manage their own finances. , in the target municipalities.
According to the minister, municipalities, as they advance in their ability to manage their finances and territorial management, will have access to World Bank financing.
As for the selected municipalities, Vera Daves de Sousa pointed out Lubango (Huíla), Cabinda, Benguela, Huambo and others, as cities with the highest population concentration, such as those that will initially integrate this programme.
He referred that tax revenues are essential to finance development, but with an increasing contribution from the non-oil sector and the consequent fall in the weight of oil.
Although the contribution of 51 percent of tax revenue, mostly dominated by oil, is still high, the Minister of Finance believes it is important to remember that a few years ago the weight of oil was greater than 75 percent and at the moment there is talk of 60 percent. /40.
Regarding the Government’s growth forecasts (3.3 percent), which are more conservative than those of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which are 3.5 percent, Vera Daves de Sousa admitted that it is the best path in the Government’s view, even if they are not very far from each other.
In the chapter on debt over Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and IMF forecasts of 63.3% in 2023 and 59.2 percent in 2024, the Angolan Minister of Finance took the opportunity to clarify that the Government’s projections are reaching 60% of debt over GDP in 2024, this being the benchmark of the program adopted and with technical assistance from the IMF.
“Our reference is the law of fiscal sustainability, with a set of targets, which was prepared with the technical assistance of the IMF, during the term of the program with the IMF, and foresees a target of 60 percent debt-GDP ratio”, underlined.
According to the minister, the Angolan Government is going to do everything to reduce the ratio through GDP growth and by contracting, as conservatively as possible, new financing.
“We want tax revenue to contribute more and more to financing activities”, he concluded.
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