Ver Angola

Politics

Cabo Verde available to help Angola in the implementation of local authorities

The Cape Verdean Government was available to share its municipal experience of more than three decades with the Government, civil society and Angolan parties, especially in training and decentralized finance, said its ambassador in Angola.

: Camara Municipal da Praia
Camara Municipal da Praia  

According to the ambassador of Cape Verde in Angola, Jorge Figueiredo, his country has almost 32 years of local authority experience and is at Angola's disposal to pass on all the experience cultivated over this period.

"We are building on almost 32 years of municipal experience with electoral changes and acceptances without any kind of constraint, so that whatever Angola deems necessary, Cape Verde, we make ourselves available", the diplomat told journalists today.

Speaking at the end of the audience granted to him today by the vice-president of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA, in power), Luísa Damião, the ambassador, at the end of his mission in Angola, referred that there are protocols on municipal training initialed between the two states.

Cape Verde is therefore "available for municipal training, in the area of decentralized finance, in municipal power", not only with the government, but with civil society and political parties that "want to gain and learn about the experience" of Cape Verde, stressed.

The non-implementation of municipalities in Angola has been criticized since 2020 by opposition parties and Angolan civil society, who admit "fears" of the MPLA losing power, criticism, however, refuted by the authorities.

A large part of the municipal legislative package has already been approved by the Angolan parliament, only the diploma on the institutionalization of municipalities in the country is missing.

Jorge Fonseca, who ends his six-year mission in Angola on March 13, discussed relations between Angola and Cape Verde with the MPLA vice-president today and made a "very positive" assessment of the strategic relations between the two Portuguese-speaking countries.

"During the six years of my stay, we managed to develop a set of agreements, in extremely important areas, namely in the area of transport, the Cape Verde-Angola connection from an air and also a maritime point of view", he said.

He also highlighted the agreements signed to facilitate business relations between the two countries, namely to attract foreign investment and trade between Angola and Cape Verde, referring that the bilateral relationship "was raised to the level of strategic cooperation".

"We think that these factors will be fundamental for us to make available what we already have the best, which is our tourism, which we think Angola will also be able to take advantage of the experience of our country, POR represents close to 30% of our GDP [Gross Domestic Product ]", he stressed.

"We are already in a strategic relationship, it is true that conditioned by covid-19, which paralyzed and at least reduced Cape Verde's ability to restart, and only now after almost three years are we taking the necessary steps towards economic recovery", he said, adding: "I just have to make an extremely positive assessment of my assessment here in Angola and our cooperation".

Asked by Lusa about the situation of the agricultural land located in the Angolan province of Cuanza Sul, given over 15 years ago by the Angolan Government to the Government of Cape Verde, the diplomat stressed that the process for its use was conditioned by covid-19.

"This is a point that was greatly conditioned on my part by the issue of covid-19. Cape Verde's objective will have to be and is the occupation of this land, there are seven thousand hectares of land located in Cuanza Sul, duly framed with permanent water ", justified.

According to Jorge Figueiredo, agricultural space, intended for the exploitation of Cape Verdean citizens residing in that Angolan province and beyond, represents around 10% of Cape Verde's productive capacity and can never be wasted.

"It is evident that time has been passing, it has been making it difficult, and the successive economic crises, particularly covid-19, have conditioned it, but I believe and one of the aspects of my mission, already in Cape Verde, will be to press for this moment to be a reality", he assured.

In January 2023, during the state visit of the Cape Verdean President, José Maria Neves, the issue of the land in Cuanza Sul was raised, during a meeting with the community residing in Angola, who claimed that the space was being "vandalized ".

José Maria Neves referred, at the time, that the land had already been regularized: "The idea is for the Government, as soon as possible, to send a mission here to definitively resolve this issue and put the land into production".

"It has enormous potential for agriculture and livestock", he stressed, in response to the concerns presented by the community residing in Luanda, in a meeting that took place at the Mediateca de Luanda.

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