Africa-Press – Angola. The majority of political and diplomatic personalities gave a positive note to the content of the information given by the Holder of the Executive Power, in the speech on the State of the Nation, during the opening ceremony of the legislative year of the National Assembly.
The MPLA vice president, Luísa Damião, said that the Head of State, throughout his speech to the Nation, made a detailed assessment of what had been done to meet the needs of citizens and outlined what should be done in favor of the resolution of citizens’ wishes and concerns over the next five years.
Luísa Damião said that the Head of State made an incursion into the social issues that most concern citizens, especially in the sectors of Education, Health, as well as unemployment.
“I think that the speech corresponded to the expectations of the Angolans”, said the party official, revealing that the municipal elections should only be called when all the conditions for that effect are created.
He recalled, by the way, that it was the MPLA that put the issue of local authorities on the political agenda, a gesture that shows the interest of this party in putting them into effect. “Most of the legislative package is approved, there is only one law left”, informed Luísa Damião, adding that, for now, there is no date for the approval of this law.
“Approval of the only law missing for the final approval of the municipal legislative package will depend only on the calendar of the respective parliamentary work committee”, declared the political official, clarifying that the parliamentary committees work according to their calendar.
UNITA replica
In a kind of reply to the Message to the Nation, the leadership of UNITA, with 90 of the 220 deputies in the National Assembly, considered the proposal for a governance program presented by the President of the Republic to be unfeasible.
In a press conference at the end of the ceremony, the leader of UNITA, Adalberto Costa Júnior, doubted the country’s ability to finance the announced projects.
Adalberto Costa Júnior reaffirmed his commitment to a responsible and participatory opposition, taking into account a vision of the future in favor of the well-being of Angolans based on dialogue and political consultation.
The leader of the largest opposition political organization in the country considered “essential” the completion of the municipal legislative package to ensure greater autonomy to local power.
Speech lived up to expectations
The leader of the PRS, Benedito Daniel, despite expressing doubts about the execution of the projects announced by the Head of State, said that the speech to the Nation corresponded to expectations.
“What matters most to the PRS is the resolution of the social situation of the citizens”, said the leader of the PRS, who said he hoped that the projects announced by the Head of State during the electoral campaign would materialize.
Benedito Daniel also expressed concern about the fact that the President of the Republic, throughout his intervention, did not establish a time horizon for the holding of municipal elections.
“We’re back to hearing what we’ve always heard. We expected the Head of State to establish a time horizon for the realization of municipalities. Once again, we stick to the laws”, he said.
Nimi to Simbi
The FNLA leader declined to make any comments about the Head of State’s speech to the Nation, stressing that he intends, first of all, to gather and hear the opinion of his advisors.
“We are going to convene our specialists and only then will we comment on the speech”, Nimi declared to Simbi, for whom the intervention of the President of the Republic contains “positive and negative things”.
At the insistence of journalists, Nimi a Simbi also said that he hoped that the Head of State would announce a concrete date for the holding of local elections.
Nimi a Simbi expressed serious doubts about the realization of autarquias throughout the legislature that began yesterday.
Optimistic diplomats
The Chinese ambassador to Angola, Gong Tao, said that the speech by the President of the Republic outlines new directions and policies for the country’s social and economic growth.
Regarding bilateral relations as “excellent”, the Chinese diplomat informed that the two countries maintain frequent contacts at the political level, stressing that the results are “fruitful” in the context of economic cooperation in terms of trade and investment.
The diplomat spoke about the holding, today, of the celebration in his country of the 20th congress of the Chinese Communist Party, which will outline the social and economic development of that Asian country for the coming years.
“Our hope is to increasingly bring the ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries closer together with a view to achieving development for the well-being of both peoples,” said Gong Tao.
In turn, the US ambassador to Angola, Tulinabo Mushingi, highlighted the fact that President João Lourenço, throughout his speech, had refuted the issue of clean energy production in the country and addressed social issues, with emphasis on for Education and Health.
The US diplomat promised, in the coming days, to continue analyzing the speech of the Head of State to find Angola’s main priorities and, based on them, the two Governments will work for the prosperity of both peoples.
“We will continue to work with the Angolan Parliament in identifying areas of cooperation”, said the diplomat, who praised the leader of the National Assembly, stressing that Carolina Cerqueira will work in the interests of citizens.
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