Africa-Press – Angola. The Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP) foresees the establishment of public-private partnerships (PPP), for the sustainability of the Informal Economy Reconversion Program (PREI), with a focus on market management.
The Secretary of State for Economy, Ivan Santos, said again, this Tuesday, about the interest of private companies in entering into the public-private partnership process, within the framework of the Informal Economy Reconversion Program (PREI).
Speaking at the “traditional briefing” of this institution, Ivan Santos said that those interested intend to manage and modernize the existing markets, guarantee better working conditions for users, as well as work on building new markets and adding complementary services, such as construction of restaurants, kindergartens and car parks.
“This need for a public-private partnership is also a way of guaranteeing the sustainability of the PREI, because the Government’s paradigm is to let the private sector boost the economy”, he stressed.
For the official, one cannot look at public or private partnerships only in terms of roads, larger infrastructures, but also in the vehicle of the economy which is the markets.
He also believes that with partnerships in this field it will be possible to have more markets and considers it a profitable segment in terms of investments, looking for better working conditions and greater benefits for those who use the markets to do business.
The official expressed his willingness to expand formalization to all sectors, leaving the spheres of markets for motorcycle taxi drivers, boats, agriculture and others.
Another issue raised concerns financial inclusion, in view of the increase in the levels of banking of informal agents through formalization.
Ivan Santos also spoke of increased inspection and expressed the need for the Government to be more persistent and more focused on the inspection process, as well as creating the digitization process within the entire scope of formalization.
“It is necessary to have digitization, the world is very fast, the digitization process is very advanced and the motto of the Government of Angola is not to leave anyone behind in the scope of digitization”, he assured.
Formalization in the order of 246.18 thousand
Underway since 2020, PREI, an initiative of the Government of Angola, developed by a multisectoral commission coordinated by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, has already formalized 246,189 economic operators in informal markets and in the 18 provinces of the country.
The program has budget support from the European Union (EU) and technical assistance from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Recently, what the PREI was under the direct responsibility of the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP), the responsibility of the PREI was passed on to the provincial governments and municipal administrations, under the operational coordination of the National Institute of Support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (INAPEM ).
The multisectoral commission of the Informal Economy Reconversion Program (PREI), which approved the new paradigm of transition from the informal to the formal economy, also agreed to divide the formalization process into stages, and the process of granting micro-credit in scales that suit the level of economic activity to be formalized.
For example, economic agents with lower incomes may be exempt from certain taxes and interest, reducing the time required for tax and social security contributions to access micro-credit.
With regard to micro-credit, the new paradigm defines three levels – the first ranges from 50,000 to 500,000 kwanzas (Kz), with exemption from contributions.
The second tier is from 500,001 to 2,500,000 kwanzas, with an obligation of three months of contributory and tax payments.
The third and last tier ranges from two million and 500 thousand and one to seven million kwanzas, with an obligation of six months of contribution.
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