The proposed laws on local authorities in the country were considered this Wednesday at the third ordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers, chaired by the President, João Lourenço, and must be sent to the National Assembly.
The ministers also considered, for submission to the National Assembly, the proposed law that approves the Remuneration Statute for the Heads of Bodies and Services of Local Authorities.
In a statement, the executive considers that the effective institutionalization of local authorities "is a relevant measure for strengthening and consolidating the democratic process underway in the country".
"And it translates the practical implementation of the principle of administrative decentralization that aims to bring services and decision-making centers closer to the population", the document states.
Most of the laws that make up the municipal legislative package, a government initiative, have already been approved by parliament and all that was missing was the approval of the law on the institutionalization of local authorities, a fact that has generated criticism from the opposition and Angolan civil society over an alleged "lack of will" policy" of the MPLA, the party that supports the Government.
The accusations and criticisms in this regard have been rejected by the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA).
The parliamentary group of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) announced, at the beginning of this month, that it will submit to parliament, as a matter of urgency, the organic bill for the institutionalization of local authorities, considering that the excuses for the non-scheduling "are outdated".
In this session, the Council of Ministers also considered a draft Presidential Legislative Decree that makes changes to the organization and functioning regime of the auxiliary bodies of the President of the Republic, with a view to reconfiguring the current Ministry of Culture and Tourism, giving way to the its separation into distinct ministerial departments.
This collegial body also approved the National Policy for Early Childhood, a diploma that defines the value of fees to be charged in environmental conservation areas, the creation of the Manuel Rui Monteiro Cultural Center and its respective organic statute, organic statutes of the Ministries of Finance, Planning and Industry and Commerce, with a view to conforming its organic and functional structure to the organization and functioning regime of the auxiliary bodies of the President of the Republic.
In the field of foreign policy, the body also approved, for submission to the National Assembly for ratification or accession, resolutions approving the Treaty of Creation of the African Medicines Agency, the Marrakesh Treaty, to facilitate access to published works for people with visual disabilities, and the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication of Angola and the Portuguese Space Agency – Portugal Space.
