Africa-Press – Angola. The Minister of the Interior, Manuel Homem, highlighted this Wednesday in Luanda the need to improve the Angolan Passport Law, as part of the ongoing modernization process at the Migration and Foreigners Service (SME).
The minister said there are aspects that need improvement and have raised concerns among citizens, regarding the validity period of this document for both minors and adults, whose terms should be adjusted once the Proposed Law to Amend the Angolan Passport Law is approved.
Manuel Homem was speaking at the end of the 8th ordinary session of the Council of Ministers, held at the Presidential Palace under the guidance of the Head of State, João Lourenço, adding that the standard passport, which is currently valid for 15 years under the law, will now have a 10-year expiration period.
The diploma, considered this Wednesday by the CM, for submission to the National Assembly, proposes a three-year validity period for passports for citizens aged 0 to 3 years, as well as diplomatic passports, under the same conditions as minors.In the same context, he said, it will no longer be mandatory to return an expired passport for the issuance of a new document, a requirement established by current law.
The Council of Ministers analyzed, among other documents, the Proposed Law to Amend the Angolan Passport Law and the Entry and Exit Regime for National Citizens, to bring the current law into line with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards regarding the security of machine-readable travel documents and ensure greater security and reliability for the Angolan passport.
The minister noted that the law needs to be adapted, as the new passport has technical characteristics that allow it to be integrated within the scope of ICAO recommendations.
“We are in a phase of modernization of the Immigration and Foreigners Service, specifically regarding passports, and considering that the new passport has technical characteristics that allow it to be integrated within the scope of ICAO recommendations, we need to improve the law and adapt it to this need,” he emphasized.
Manuel Homem also emphasized the ongoing need to improve the social conditions of employees and pensioners covered by the Ministry of the Interior’s Social Protection Fund.
He indicated that he had presented a proposal for approval of the salary adjustment, which involves an 11% increase compared to the increase already made to the civil service.
Today’s session evaluated the Presidential Decree approving the Adjustment of Pension Values for Pensioners of the Ministry of the Interior. This legislation adjusts the pension values of beneficiaries of the Ministry of the Interior’s Social Protection System to increase their purchasing power, taking into account the impact of the increase in civil service salaries, which ensures the sustainability of the subsystem.The Council of Ministers also considered the Presidential Decree amending the Annex to the Decree on the Exemption and Simplification of Procedures for Granting Tourist Visas, a law that includes the Republic of the Philippines among the countries covered by Angola’s tourist visa exemption regime.
During the meeting, the Presidential Decree approving the Memorandum of Understanding between the National Civil Aviation Authority of Angola and its counterpart in Ethiopia on Air Transport Services and the Presidential Decree approving the Memorandum of Understanding on Political Consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Angola and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic were also discussed.
The memorandums of understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Angola and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Madagascar on Political Consultations, and between the governments of Angola and Sweden on Cooperation in the Field of Energy and Water, were among the documents reviewed at the meeting.The Executive’s collegiate body also analyzed the presidential decrees establishing the Order of Physiotherapists of Angola and approving its organizational statute, as well as the Technical Unit for the Use and Development of the Cunene Irrigated Areas (UTADIPC), approving its organizational statute.
The aforementioned decree aims to ensure the effective use, sustainable management, and full operation of drought-fighting infrastructure, as well as the exploitation of the resulting positive externalities.
In the internal chapter, the Presidential Decree Amending the Rules of Procedure of the Specialized Committees of the Council of Ministers was considered. This decree aims to modify the composition of the Council of Ministers’ Social Policy Committee, as well as its responsibilities, as a body that supports and assists the Council in designing, coordinating, and monitoring social policies and programs and in monitoring the implementation of the Angola 2050 Long-Term Development Strategy and the 2023-2027 National Development Plan.
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