Africa-Press – Angola. The Angolan Ministry of Territory Administration (MAT) will soon rely on Portugal’s experience in the field of training staff linked to the institutionalization process of local authorities.
The measure is the result of a Cooperation Protocol in the field of Territorial Cohesion, signed this Monday, in Luanda, between the MAT and its counterpart in Portugal, which aims to materialize the Strategic Cooperation Program recently agreed between the Republics of Angola and Portuguese.
Initialed by the holder of the Territory Administration portfolio, Dionísio da Fonseca, and by the Minister of Territorial Cohesion of Portugal, Ana Maria Abrunhosa, the document embodies the exchange of experience between the two countries in various areas, with emphasis on training the human capital, institutional cooperation and implementation of economic and social cohesion programs.
The same includes, among other actions, the elaboration and implementation of programs that guarantee the quality, efficiency, identity and competitiveness of the regions, reduction of local asymmetries and balanced development of the territory, valorization of the interior, as well as the institutionalization of a forum of territorial cohesion and knowledge centers on local and regional development.
Also included are the follow-up and monitoring of the administrative decentralization process, the design of governance models for decentralization and common regulation, the definition of public policies for territorial development, as well as the promotion of equity and sustainability in local development.
Speaking to the press, the signatories were unanimous regarding the importance and future benefits of this partnership, judging, above all, by the long experience that Portugal has in matters of gender, as well as the municipalization of the State.
According to Dionísio da Fonseca, the intention, within the scope of the implementation of the protocol, is to provide for continuous improvement in the living conditions of the population and ensure that citizens have dignity where they live, especially in rural areas.
He expressed interest in counting on the help of Portugal in the field of policies to reduce local asymmetries, increasingly valuing the interior and improving services in communities.
“We are excited about the experience that Portugal has in enhancing the countryside. We want to ensure that with this sharing it is also possible to apprehend how this country has effectively reduced the rural exodus and ensure that every Portuguese citizen feels good in the territory in which he resides”, he said.
In turn, Ana Abrunhosa underlined that it was possible to contribute to the institutionalization of municipalities based on actions on municipalization, successful in her country, such as, for example, territory management and the exercise of competences that ceased to be the responsibility of the Government and became to municipalities.
He defended, however, the need to adapt the measures to reality, taking into account the people and the specific problems of the territories.
Witnessing the act, on the Angolan side, were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, and the Secretary of State for local authorities, Márcio de Jesus Daniel, as well as the Portuguese ambassador to Angola, Francisco Duarte.
The signing of the protocol takes place a week after the visit to Angola by the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, during which 13 cooperation agreements were signed, mainly in the economic and financial fields.
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