According to Luís Jimbo, the search for consensus in debates at the National Assembly, in the current political year, on the institutionalization of local authorities and the DPA, will contribute to deflating the demonstrations announced by the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).
"It will depend on the degree of consensus that will be reached in parliament to alleviate the pressure on the street. That's why I say that there is a point of convergence here, which is the debate on local authorities, and the point of divergence is the debate on the DPA and the proposal for Cabinda's autonomy", the expert told Lusa.
The theme should animate the political debate in the country, after the president of UNITA, Adalberto Costa Júnior, announced the proposal on the autonomy of the province of Cabinda and the president of the MPLA reaffirmed the need for the country's Administrative Political Division.
In a speech given during a visit to Cabinda over the weekend, Adalberto Costa Júnior said that he will present a proposal to parliament on the autonomy of this enclave located north of Angola.
For Luís Jimbo, "local authorities are a form of autonomy".
"And let's see what the understanding of the MPLA, which holds the majority in parliament, will be regarding João Lourenço's proposal, who reiterated that he will make the Political and Administrative Division happen", he highlighted.
The president of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), who opened the 2024 political year in Luanda over the weekend, criticized the opposition, who said he was scared by the decentralization program, which includes the new DPA, which foresees the creation of two more provinces (totaling 20) and 161 new municipalities (totaling 365).
João Lourenço assured that it is not true that his party wants to avoid moving towards local authorities with the new DPA: "One thing has nothing to do with the other, we can have more municipalities and communes without prejudice to the need to create local authority", maintained.
Luís Jimbo, who spoke about the country's political challenges in 2024, in light of recent interventions by the presidents of the MPLA and UNITA, envisaged a year of "active interventions".
For the political analyst, recent communications from both leaders signal an "interesting" opening of the campaign for the current political year.
"I think the most interesting thing is the challenges that the MPLA poses and I see that this political year of the MPLA is launched with the challenge that the MPLA and its president recognize that there are more patriots in social society and [in other] opposition parties", he said.
Jimbo considered that the MPLA and its members "have to do everything" to understand the country's dynamics, "in order to join other patriots from civil society and other parties to overcome the challenges" that lie ahead over the next 50 years.
