Africa-Press – Angola. The Angolan government has decided to implement a fishing village development program to improve infrastructure conditions and ensure the sustainability of artisanal fishing, according to a statement from the Council of Ministers released on Friday in Luanda.
The presidential decree approving the program was among the documents considered, on the same day, during the 9th ordinary session of the Council of Ministers to be submitted for discussion and final approval by the National Assembly.
The purpose of the bill is to improve the living conditions of fishing communities, both on the coast and in rural areas, by creating and strengthening the conditions of infrastructure, equipment and associated basic services.
Its implementation aims to ensure the sustained and sustainable development of artisanal, maritime and continental fishing activity, and the value chain of this productive subsector, by increasing production and market access and improving the value of fishing products, as well as generating employment and increasing the income of fishing communities.
Speaking to the press at the end of the meeting, the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Carmen do Sacramento Neto, underlined the importance of the programme valued at 800 to 900 million kwanzas.
She explained that the project is focused on three fundamental pillars, namely, social, economic and environmental, allowing the organization of local structures for the execution of the activity with dignity, sanitary conditions, sanitary hygiene and that the ecosystem is aligned with the need for environmental conservation.
According to the minister, in a first phase, the program, whose implementation she considers immediate, will begin with the restructuring of infrastructures such as artisanal fishing centers already existing in some locations in the country.
She indicated as the main beneficiaries the areas of Egito Praia and Equimina, both in the province of Benguela, as well as Lake Dilolo (Moxico Leste), Lagoa do Ngolome (Cuanza-Norte) and another locality, in the province of Bengo.
With the exception of Lake Dilolo, he said, the remaining areas already have “structures that can bring the project to the desired size”.
Carmen do Sacramento Neto said that these centres will gain an integrated organisational dimension, being able to project, in addition to fishing, the development for tourism and the implementation of other infrastructures such as residences.
Regarding the local and regional growth perspective, the minister indicated that the program will provide direct and indirect jobs, giving another dimension to the aggregate of target populations.
She clarified that, by 2027, the sector plans to include other towns that this year are not integrated.
With this, “we will successively integrate several fishing villages into a single concept that will allow growth, alongside what are called agro-villages or tourist villages, with dignity for the fishermen, the women who process the fish and the families who live together with the main method, which is artisanal fishing.”
For More News And Analysis About Angola Follow Africa-Press
