Government says it has a “dialogue attitude” and “there are no walls” with society

"Our governance, based on facts, shows that between the executive and civil society there are no walls, there are bridges. Between the executive and religious organizations there are no walls, there are bridges", said the Secretary of State for Local Authorities, Márcio Daniel, when asked by Lusa.

According to the official, there are several examples that attest to the Government's open and dialoguing stance, pointing out the recent holding of the municipal forum to collect contributions for the preparation of the General State Budget (OGE) for 2022 as one of the evidences.

In this domain, he pointed out, organizations linked to the "various quadrants" of society, including the religious component, participated.

"For example, we have the support of CICA [Council of Christian Churches in Angola], the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Church, which participated with us in the process of collecting contributions", he added.

The Catholic bishops considered, on Tuesday, that there is a "dangerous void of dialogue" in Angola between rulers and ruled, between party leaders, a fact that "raises radicalism and intolerance", and lamented the "frightening" situation of poverty.

At the opening of the first ordained plenary assembly of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé (CEAST), the organization's president, José Manuel Imbamba, stated that there is, in Angola, an "obvious degradation of the habits and customs of social behavior, attitudes and of civility" and "a dangerous void exists between the governors and the governed, between the party leaders and between the various civic actors".

"Raising even more the levels of anxiety, radicalism, intolerance, indiscipline, physical, verbal, moral and psychological violence", said the prelate at the opening of the assembly that runs until 7 February, in the Angolan province of Benguela.

The Secretary of State for Local Authorities was speaking to journalists in Luanda at the end of the official launch ceremony of the Civil Society and Local Administration Support Project in Angola.

Asked about the matter, Márcio Daniel said that he "respects all positions and opinions, which are always alert", reaffirming, however, that the dialogue between the executive and Angolan civil society has manifested itself in "various domains".

"[Dialogue] has been manifested in this domain, in which in the preparation of the OGE 2022 we have the fingerprint of the citizens in the 164 municipalities of the country and this was not done directly by the executive", he said.

"The executive made use of organizations established in this location, several organizations that with the executive went to the communities, asked what their priorities are and transcribed them in the municipal administration's budget proposal and we can say today that the OGE in force has the fingerprint of citizens in the 164 municipalities of the country", he pointed out.

For the official, the consultation exercise for the elaboration of the OGE, which "had the support and direct collaboration of civil society, is unequivocal proof that between the executive and civil society there are no walls, there are bridges".

To substantiate his arguments, the Angolan Secretary of State also noted that "the nine approved proposals, which resulted from the municipal legislative package, are not the materialization of a merely ideological vision supported by the Government".

They are proposals that, before being taken to the National Assembly, he maintained, "were submitted to a genuine process of public consultation which resulted in resolutions that even transformed the ideological positions of those who proposed the diploma".

"Therefore, more than words are facts that prove a dialoguing, open posture, and always willing to find consensus. sensitivities at the level of our society", he exemplified.

Márcio Daniel also pointed out that he "respects all positions and opinions, which are always alert", referring that the Government "has this concern and, obviously, there are always spaces for improvement".

"There are always mechanisms to increase our performance, but this is our way of being in politics, a dialoguing, open, humble posture, but also that seeks to respond to the needs of citizens", concluded the minister.