Africa-Press – Angola. The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, said this Saturday, in Luanda, that there is a lack of patriotism in Angolan politicians who seek to negatively influence international financial institutions, creditors and investors interested in Angola.
According to the President, who was speaking at the meeting with the Economic and Social Council, the commitment to the Angolan people is serious and unbreakable and, therefore, work will continue to put Angola on an increasingly higher level.
“But, unfortunately, while we work for the economic and social development of the country, some politicians in our country, who never wanted the good of Angola and Angolans, have been carrying out contrary work with international financial institutions, creditors and investors to discourage investment in Angola”, said João Lourenço.
For the Head of State, this action, which clearly reflects the lack of patriotism, of sabotage against the interests of his own country, is doomed to failure, because fortunately the financiers, creditors and investors are guided by objective criteria for analyzing the markets and They know how serious it is when it comes to honoring their commitments to their creditors.
He recalled that in addition to important mineral resources, arable land, rivers with permanent water, regular rainfall, good climate, forests, savannah and desert rich in biodiversity, Angola has hospitable people, rich culture and good cuisine.
In his intervention, the President of the Republic also said that he could count on the knowledge, experience and contributions of the members of the Economic and Social Council to have a more robust and resilient economy, which better resists external shocks.
On the other hand, João Lourenço spoke about the definition of fiscal policies, where governments, when establishing the value of taxes, always seek to find a balance point that does not suffocate families and companies, but also contributes to raising sufficient financial resources for State coffers, which have great responsibilities and large expenses to incur.
He emphasized that governments live off the taxes charged to companies and citizens in order to carry out projects in the General State Budget, to build all types of public infrastructure such as roads, bridges, ports and airports, energy and water production plants , educational and hospital establishments, pay salaries and retirement pensions, guarantee the normal functioning of the public service and sovereign bodies, among other actions.
“All of this comes from taxes. Even so, the Executive decided to lower VAT on essential food items with the highest consumption, a matter that will be taken up in due course by the National Assembly, as it involves changing a law”, he argued.
Regarding exchange rate fluctuations, João Lourenço explained that, as in any market economy, the exchange rate of the kwanza in relation to the dollar varies depending on the supply/demand relationship and other economic variables.
For this reason, he highlighted that there will always be times when national currencies will be stronger or valued, but there will be other times when they will be weaker and therefore devalued.
He suggested that through measures that should not be administrative, governments seek to keep their currencies strong, especially “in our case of a country that annually spends large sums of currency on importing goods that must start producing them locally. We are approaching the matter with due seriousness,” he said.
The Economic and Social Council is a consultative body of the President of the Republic.
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