Luanda governor criticizes vandalism and calls for dialogue to “find solutions”

Ana Paula de Carvalho, who was speaking to the Public Television of Angola (TPA), considered the situation "worrying" and announced that a meeting had already been scheduled with the leaders of the associations to discuss the six points of the taxi drivers' claim book.

The strike was called by the Associação Nova Aliança dos Taxistas de Angola (ANATA), the Association of Taxi Drivers of Angola and the Association of Taxi Drivers of Luanda and extends to six other provinces in the country.

"There was a meeting [Friday] under the guidance of the Minister of State, where the issue of capacity was reviewed. There is a claim book with six points and we think that we should sit down to talk and find solutions, not start with the wave of vandalization of that Luanda was targeted today", said the provincial official, criticizing: "As far as is known, the strike is carried out by paralyzing, not preventing others [from working], setting fire to buses. We are creating other situations and we are not solving the that we intend".

However, the striker associations distanced themselves from the acts, publishing a statement on social media in which they allege that the vandalism is being practiced "allegedly by individuals forged to tarnish the good name of the associations that called for the strike".

They also accuse the public television channels (TPA and Zimbo) and the national police of "inducing citizens to believe that the strike has been suspended", recruiting people who do not belong to the associations to "engage in acts of vandalism" and "take revenge ", reiterating that they are open to dialogue with the competent bodies for each point claimed in the communiqué of the associations.

The president of the Associação Nova Aliança dos Taxistas de Angola (ANATA), Francisco Patient, has already regretted the lack of dialogue with the authorities, which he accused of lying to public opinion.

Ana Paula de Carvalho appealed to the population not to join the demonstrations, so as not to "create more complications" and guaranteed that the Provincial Government of Luanda (GPL) "will work with the associations and the population.

"In the sense of seeing what we really want for our province," she said, insisting on rejecting the disturbances.

"They burned a bus, it is a public good, they prevented people from arriving early at their place of work. They are demanding their rights, but they are losing their reason", he stressed, adding that the Angolan capital returned to calm at the beginning. in the afternoon and that the LPG will monitor the situation while the strike lasts, with a meeting with the association leaders being planned to discuss the six points contained in the claim book, one of which said to be outdated (100 percent capacity) and others " advanced".

Taxi drivers complain, in particular, of the excessive zeal of the police officers they are targeting and the bad condition of the roads and demand professionalization of the activity through a specific title.

The Luanda Police announced that 17 people allegedly involved in acts of vandalism had already been arrested in the urban district of Benfica, where a building of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) was set on fire.