Africa-Press – Angola. The Angolan parliament approved the General State Account (CGE) for the 2023 financial year, with only favorable votes from the MPLA (power), which said it had made significant progress in the document, while UNITA (opposition) voted against.
The CGE implementation report, presented today by the Angolan Government to the National Assembly (parliament), was approved with 104 votes in favor from the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA, in power) and 63 votes against from the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA, the largest opposition party).
The National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), the Social Renewal Party (PRS) and the Humanist Party of Angola (PHA), all in opposition, abstained, totaling five votes.
In her declaration of vote, MPLA deputy Maria Idalina Valente stated that the party voted in favor of the CGE 2023 because it recorded “progress in the areas of budgetary management, namely prudent execution that resulted in a positive balance of 1.3% of GDP and a robust primary balance”.
“These indicators contribute to the credibility of fiscal policy and the stability of public finances, especially in an economic context still marked by natural challenges”, he explained.
UNITA’s vote against was justified by deputy Anabela Sapalalo considering that the CGE’s priorities “are completely truncated and, therefore, she argued, “it becomes impossible to put the country back on the path of sustained growth and promote its development”.
For the PHA, deputy Fernando Dinis justified the abstention vote due to the fact that the 2023 General State Account presents “gaps in distributive justice, lack of concrete results for youth and women and an increase in public debt without measurable social return”.
The Secretary of State for the Budget, Juciene Cristiano dos Santos, revealed that in 2023 revenues worth 20.33 trillion kwanzas (19.5 billion euros) were collected, which represents an execution of 101% of the General State Budget (OGE). Expenditure, in turn, totaled 20.1 trillion kwanzas (19.4 billion euros), corresponding to an execution of 100% and an increase of 22% compared to 2022.
The official highlighted that the increase in expenditure was mainly due to higher interest charges on debt, subsidies, employer contributions and other transfers. The overall budget balance pointed to a surplus of 235.57 billion kwanzas (226 million euros).
The Secretary of State also highlighted that 2023 marked the beginning of a new cycle of governance and the continuity of structural reforms, with a visible impact on internal revenue collection and the extension of public debt maturities.
For More News And Analysis About Angola Follow Africa-Press
