Africa-Press – Angola. The Angolan Parliament unanimously approved this Friday, the Proposals for a Law on the Institutionalization of Local Authorities, on Local Elected Members and the Municipal Guard, legislative initiatives from the Executive.
When presenting the diplomas to the hemicycle, the Minister of Territorial Administration, Dionísio Manuel da Fonseca, pointed out that the institutionalization of local authorities represents an important step towards strengthening and consolidating the democratic process underway in the country.
Dionísio da Fonseca emphasized that institutionalizing local authorities is a constitutional design and a national objective, enshrined in the country’s main governance instruments approved by the Holder of the Executive Branch.
Within the scope of the Proposed Law on the Institutionalization of Local Authorities, it is proposed to define a set of essential tasks, linked to unofficial registration, the attribution of the Identity Card, the approval of municipal legislation, territorial delimitation, human capital, to assets, budget management and information and communication technologies.
According to the minister, these tasks must be carried out by sharing responsibility between the Executive and the National Assembly.
The Executive proposed to Parliament to set up an Occasional Committee, in charge of monitoring the implementation of these tasks, being also responsible for assessing the circumstantial report that should serve as a basis for creating each local authority specifically and by its own law.
Statute of Local Elected Members
Law no. 25/20, of 20 July on the Statute of Local Elected Members, provides for a series of duties and rights, including monthly remuneration, representation allowance, expenses allowances, subsidies holidays and respective social benefits.
Article 12 of the same diploma establishes that the salary of the president and other members of the municipal council is determined by their own right.
In terms of remuneration, the president of the Municipality Chamber is expected to have a base salary equivalent to 75% of the provincial governor’s salary and will also have a representation allowance worth 50% of the respective base salary.
The President of the Chamber will also be entitled to a rent subsidy worth 45% of his basic salary if he does not live in an official residence.
The Municipal Guard provided for in the Proposed Law is an administrative service of the local authority intended to exercise the function of the administrative police in the respective area of jurisdiction and guarantee compliance with the rules in force in the local authority.
The Minister of Territorial Administration clarified that the Municipal Guard should not be confused with the National Police, which is a national, regulated and non-partisan institution, organized on the basis of hierarchy and discipline, responsible for the country’s public protection and security.
The Municipal Guard will essentially be made up of municipal inspection agents.
The proposed laws, the latest in the municipal Package, will now be the subject of discussion, in the specialty, for subsequent final global approval.
UNITA’s favorable vote
In her declaration of vote, deputy Ariane Nyane, from the UNITA parliamentary group, highlighted the importance of approving the Proposal for the Institutionalization of Local Authorities for the implementation of participatory democracy throughout the country.
She said it was necessary for legislators to reassess, in terms of specialty, the distribution of powers “to guarantee the true autonomy of local authorities and the principle of equality for all municipalities”.
“We firmly believe that through the equitable distribution of power it is possible to build a fairer, more inclusive and prosperous Angola for all citizens,” she concluded.
Deputy Rui Malopa Miguel, from the PRS-FNLA Mixed parliamentary group, considered the approval of the proposed Law on Local Authorities as an opportunity to fulfill the assumptions set out in the Constitution, which enshrines respect for the principles of autonomy of local government bodies..
The Municipal Legislative Package has 13 diplomas that will regulate the exercise of municipal power in the country, ten of which have already been approved by the National Assembly and published in the Official Gazette.
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