Africa-Press – Angola. Residents praise the Executive’s project, considering that it came at a good time, as the district lacked schools and health centers
The inhabitants of Lubalo, in the province of Lunda-Norte, recognize that the district is gradually gaining a new image, with the socially impactful infrastructures built within the scope of the Integrated Municipal Intervention Plan (PIIM).
To date, seven of the ten initial projects have been inaugurated, but the economic and financial rebalancing strategy, aimed at executing public contracts, has allowed the PIIM project portfolio in Lubalo to be increased to 22 actions.
Among the completed and inaugurated works are two schools with seven classrooms, with their respective multi-sports courts, in the Mbavo and Muxi neighborhoods, the Municipal Command of the National Police and a T3 residence for the commander of the corporation.
Two water holes were also delivered to the population for the Cefo and Muangongue neighborhoods, in addition to the acquisition of generator sets for lighting the municipal headquarters and supplying electricity to the Muvuluege commune.
The completion and entry into operation of the new infrastructures, inaugurated this year, including the increase in the number of projects, is a source of satisfaction for the local population, which is therefore fueling hope for better days.
Cabala Samazeze, a civil servant, joined the Education sector six years ago. He left the comfort of the city of Dundo, capital of Lunda-Norte, where he lived with his family, to settle in Lubalo, with the aim of contributing to the academic education of other citizens.
The professor revealed that when he arrived in Lubalo, a municipality located in the centre of Lunda-Norte, there were no infrastructures with a social impact. Everything was precarious, but he recognises that today, with the investments resulting from the Integrated Intervention Plan in Municipalities, the reality is different.
Now, more than ever, he declared, the authorities must continue with the same dynamic to complete other ongoing projects for the benefit of the population.
Cabala Samazeze welcomed the Executive’s initiative to move forward to a second phase of the PIIM, suggesting that priorities for Lubalo should focus on improving the road network between the municipal headquarters and other locations.
“When I arrived in Lubalo six years ago, we had almost nothing in terms of infrastructure. Everything was precarious. I almost returned to Dundo, because the isolation was too much. Today, the reality is different. The PIIM is giving the municipality a new image, because we have gained new infrastructure. Now, we just have to continue with the same dynamic so that the unfinished works are finished”, said the Portuguese Language teacher in the II Cycle.
Reason for satisfaction
For citizen Manuel Casseno, the completion of seven projects registered in the PIIM for Lubalo is a source of pride and satisfaction for the inhabitants.
The citizen praised the Executive’s initiative, considering that the PIIM arrived at a good time, as the district lacked many infrastructures with social impact, mainly schools, and the children studied in very difficult conditions.
Manuel Casseno called on the authorities to pay special attention to the issue of improving roads, as Lubalo remains isolated from other municipalities in the province, due to the high state of degradation of National Road 170, whose works have been paralyzed for almost eight years.
MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATOR
“All projects will be completed by the end of the year”
The municipal administrator of Lubalo, Silvestre Cheleca, clarified that ten projects were initially approved for the municipality, valued at 1.5 billion kwanzas at the time.
With the entry into operation of the three new projects, he added, the level of physical execution of the first ten PIIM actions is around 70 percent.
The person in charge expects that, by the end of the current financial year, the remaining 30 percent will be completed, with ongoing projects for three official residences, including two under construction in the Muvuluege commune and one in the municipal headquarters.
Silvestre Cheleca stated that the execution of the PIIM is on track, since the specificity of Lubalo, which faces difficulties with the degradation of access roads, leads many contractors to give up working in the area.
Rebalancing of projects
Silvestre Cheleca reported that, in addition to the initial ten, within the framework of the provision of rebalancing of PIIM actions, 12 projects were registered and approved for the district, which has a population density of 20 thousand inhabitants, according to the 2014 General Population and Housing Census.
Silvestre Cheleca said that two of the 12 new actions have already been implemented, one is underway and the remaining nine are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, for evaluation and validation before financing.
The administrator clarified that, in the package for rebalancing PIIM projects, the Lubalo authorities included works that had been paralyzed for many years, with emphasis on health, housing, sports, administrative, electrical energy and social communication infrastructures.
The actions included in the Rebalancing of the Integrated Intervention Plan in the Municipalities of Lubalo, according to Silvestre Cheleca, are valued at 360 million kwanzas.
Among the projects in the investment portfolio, he highlighted the completion of a clinical analysis laboratory, whose works were halted, the official residence and a multipurpose field, in the municipal headquarters of Lubalo.
The works to complete a residence for the Muvuluege communal administrator, adaptation of an old infrastructure for the services of the Single Public Service Desk (BUAP), the Municipal Administration auditorium, the acquisition of two generator sets, including the installation of public lighting posts in some streets in the Lubalo headquarters and the installation of the signal for Rádio Nacional de Angola were also registered.
The municipal administrator of Lubalo reported that the overall financial value for the ten initial projects and the 12 others of the rebalancing, approved in the PIIM, are estimated at 1.8 billion kwanzas.
National Roads
Almost nine years after the construction work on National Road 170 was earmarked, due to the discontinuation of project funding, the authorities and residents of Lubalo are advocating the creation of conditions for the resumption of work, under penalty of the isolation of the district. The access road is in an advanced stage of degradation, combined with the appearance of erosion.
On the section between the Lubalo headquarters/communes of Camaxilo and Xinge, in the municipalities of Caungula and Capenda-Camulemba, work is at a standstill. This is a 208-kilometre route, divided into 115 and 93 kilometres.
According to the administrator, in practical terms, of the 10 municipalities of Lunda-Norte, only Lubalo is without paved roads, which has made road connections with other locations difficult.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Public Works, Urban Planning and Housing reported that the construction of National Road 170 was included in the 2024 General State Budget, awaiting only formalization, in terms of Public Procurement for the start of the project.
The information, according to the municipal administrator, pleased the population who are eager for the start of the road construction works. The headquarters of Lubalo is 400 kilometers from the city of Dundo.
The Lubalo administrator said that, although there is still much to be done, the situation has changed significantly, as the resumption of construction work on National Road 170 is a priority for the Provincial Government of Lunda-Norte and the Ministry of Public Works, Urban Planning and Housing.
The resumption of works on the Camaxilo/Lubalo section to Xinge, he said, is of utmost importance as it is the “branch” from the starting point to connect the road axes between National Roads 225 and 230.
According to Silvestre Cheleca, one of the first steps taken by the authorities has to do with the fact that the road has been classified as a national category section. From this point of view, the administrator foresees the search for solutions to overcome the problem linked to the lack of funding.
Jornal de Angola
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