"Information about contracts without a public tender, of less value than in the time of José Eduardo dos Santos, is true, but it's not good information to know that there are projects awarded based on lists," said Manuel Alves da Rocha in statements to journalists at the end of the presentation of the book "Angola, Dois Olhares Cruzados", in co-authorship with Manuel Ennes Ferreira.
"The process of fighting corruption is not just an intention. João Lourenço has made the fight against corruption a genuine Government programme, which is not correct, because corruption will never be completely eradicated, and there are already occurrences where public projects are awarded without a public tender, and the implementation of more transparency was one of the main tasks", lamented the academic.
"My scepticism [regarding João Lourenço] stems from having been secretary general of the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA), member of provincial governments and minister of various portfolios, and from information that the struggle within the party is on, because it is not easy to destroy pressure groups that have always benefited from this kind of approach to public money," Alves da Rocha said.
The scepticism and criticism do not stem from the desire to leave things as they were, "on the contrary," he assured, explaining that "the doubt is in the effectiveness of all this, assuming that the fight against corruption is being done through people who were corrupt, and that it is not known whether they are still corrupt or not.
