According to a presidential order published this Tuesday in Diário da República, the Province of Luanda is "without any operator hired for the respective service and has been witnessing an increase in garbage on public roads since the beginning of this year".
"The termination of contracts for the provision of public cleaning and solid waste collection services can cause serious public health problems, the occurrence of other endemic and pandemic outbreaks," said the order signed by President João Lourenço.
The Emergency Contracting Procedure is divided into several lots, to provide public cleaning and solid waste collection services in the municipalities of Luanda, Icolo and Bengo, Quiçama, Cacuaco, Cazenga, Viana, Belas, Kilamba Kiaxi and Talatona.
The Provincial Governor of Luanda is authorized to approve the parts of the procedure, the creation of the Tender Evaluation Committee, as well as the verification of the validity and legality of all acts performed within the scope of the Tender.
The Minister of Finance must ensure that the necessary financial resources are available for the execution of contracts for these projects, according to the presidential order.
In a presidential decree also published this Tuesday, it is approved the opening of an additional credit in the amount of 27.96 billion kwanzas, for the payment of expenses for the provision of public cleaning and solid waste collection services in the Province from Luanda.
The amount of the additional credit must be allocated in stages, depending on the payment needs and after all funds initially allocated have been exhausted and will be allocated to the Budgetary Unit of the Government of the Province of Luanda, the decree adds.
Garbage outbreaks in Luanda, especially on primary and secondary roads, taxi stops, markets, crosswalks and neighborhoods, have recently marked the daily life of Luanda, with people expressing "indignation" at the bleak scenario.
The Government of Luanda had an accumulated debt of more than 246 billion kwanzas until last November, a situation that "forced" the governor, Joana Lina, to suspend the contracts with six operators for "inability to settle" late payments.
The Government of Luanda announced on February 12 that it will hold operators responsible for cleaning and collecting solid waste that "deliberately" removed their containers on the street, after suspension of contracts for accumulated debt by the authorities.
On the sidelines of the community consultation council where the "Strategy for the Implementation of the Solid Waste Management Model" was presented in Luanda, Dário Bamba said that containers were removed throughout the province.
According to the authorities, new public tenders for public service concession will soon be launched based on a model approved in 2018 by the economic commission of the Council of Ministers.
An "emergency plan for public cleaning" in Luanda is already underway, as announced at the meeting by the director of the Environment, Solid Waste Management and Community Services office in the capital, Vânia Vaz.
