Africa-Press – Angola. Sixteen journalists were trained, this Friday, on participatory governance, in the province of Benguela, in an initiative of the Civil Society and Local Administration Support Project in Angola (PASCAL).
Budgeted at five million and 800 thousand euros, financed by the European Commission, PASCAL covers the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Huíla, Luanda and Malanje, making up 25 municipalities.
The project consists of three axes, such as strengthening local administration, supporting civil society and training social bodies.
During the meeting, which took place at the Benguela Media Library, media professionals reflected on citizenship, decentralization and participatory governance, with a view to bringing the rulers and the ruled closer together.
For the director of the Civil Society and Local Administration Support Project in Angola “Pascal”, Pablo Lopez, this initiative is already starting to show the first results in the five provinces of the country covered.
Pablo Lopez considers that the State’s public and local administration staff, namely provincial governments and municipal administrations, are more strengthened and qualified through the institutional strengthening program.
He highlighted participatory budgeting, project management, project identification, among others, as the themes being addressed within the scope of PASCAL.
“In the beginning, the project was slow, but I think we are starting to see the first fruits”, he said, highlighting that, in addition to journalists, the project aims for a stronger and more capable civil society to work together with municipal administrations.
In turn, the national director for State Local Administration, Cassongo João da Cruz, said that social communication plays an important role in the process of participatory governance.
The person in charge admits that there is still a weakness in communication and, therefore, the meeting with journalists to better inform communities about the Executive’s projects, such as the Participatory Budget.
Regarding PASCAL, he recognizes that it has done hard and positive work, with a view to encouraging citizen participation and the Ministry of Territorial Administration is part of this process.
As the Executive’s directive is to “work harder and communicate better”, Cassongo João da Cruz calls on municipal administrators to be more open, so that the population can follow the tasks in their locality.
To be implemented by 2025, PASCAL aims to promote the exchange of knowledge, skills and good practices between the European Union, Angola and other African and Latin American countries to support the country’s institutional strengthening and create mechanisms for the inclusive and effective participation of citizenship.
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