Africa-Press – Angola. The president of the National Assembly, Carolina Cerqueira, said she hopes that the proposed General State Budget (OGE) for 2024 will contribute to improving the situation of families, despite the difficult and demanding moment that the country is going through, marked by the increase in inflation and public debt service.
Carolina Cerqueira, who spoke to the press on Tuesday, after the ceremony of handing over the OGE proposal to Parliament, by the Minister of State for Economic Coordination, José de Lima Massano, revealed that in the instrument the social area has a weight of 20.1 percent, corresponding to 4.9 billion kwanzas. The economic part, she said, accounts for 4.9 percent, corresponding to 1.2 billion kwanzas, while Defense, Security and Public Order accounts for 7.1 percent, corresponding to 1.7 billion kwanzas.
Regarding the budget proposal, Carolina Cerqueira praised the measures aimed at increasing public investment and reducing public debt, which could stimulate development in the long term.
The president of the National Assembly added that the combination of long- and short-term measures are essential to preserve social peace. “We hope that the OGE 2024 proposal can address our concerns as legislators,” she said.
Carolina Cerqueira pointed out that the delivery of the OGE proposal corresponded to tradition, as it was entered into Parliament at the exact time, as established in the rules.
The parliamentary leader informed that the document will be discussed in general and, later, in detail, where social partners and civil society should be heard. The discussions will take about a month.
Carolina Cerqueira also said that, using a calendar, the document will be presented to the management bodies of the National Assembly, so that a schedule can be established that must respect the various defined parameters.
In the OGE proposal, he continued, it is planned to strengthen the income of families and workers, through the appreciation of public service salaries and the economy, a stronger focus on employment and the continued protection of the most vulnerable.
Carolina Cerqueira considers it important to reinforce the need to guarantee coordination between measures of a cyclical nature with those of a structural nature, in order to continue to respond to the concrete needs that families face.
High unemployment and the scarcity of the basic food basket are factors of poverty that affect a large part of the population, according to Carolina Cerqueira, who considered it urgent to take short-term measures, aimed at increasing employment and private investment, without forget about monetary support, such as Kwenda and other anti-poverty programs for the most disadvantaged families hoping for improved living conditions.
The leader of Parliament also shared the Executive’s “great concern” about the difficult social situation that afflicts the population, particularly aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has increased unemployment and caused a decrease in productivity across the country.
He also pointed out the financial shock last year, which resulted in a currency devaluation that impacts an acceleration in inflation.
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