"It's a model that works, but it needs to be a model in favour of production. If we go again for a model in favour of trade and imports, the disaster is total", José Severino told Lusa.
That's why "everything depends on the holder's philosophy of command," he added.
Overall, José Severino considers positive the reduction in the number of ministries decided last week by the executive, which is in line with a proposal the EIA had already made in the same direction, 15 days after the inauguration of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, in September 2017.
"This oil crisis didn't start in 2017, it's already behind us, and obviously we needed to have a less spending state apparatus than we have today", he said, stressing the need to strengthen areas like Education and Health, not only in budgetary terms, but also at the level of cadres.
"Today we go to those ministries and it's embarrassing the lack of cadres. The very bone structure is small for the size of the territory that has so many social problems, an education of terrible weakness, a health with the fragility we know", despite the efforts of its leaders and cadres, said the same responsible.
For the leader of the EIA, "a structural change" is needed, giving as an example what is already done in the provinces with the sectors of industry, commerce and mineral resources that are under the same provincial direction.
José Severino disagrees, on the other hand, with the merger of agriculture and fisheries.
"It doesn't work because this territory has a million and 200 thousand square kilometres, it has 2,400 kilometres of sea", he stressed, considering that "it's a very heavy structure that requires great dynamism" and that in this case "the fish in the pot don't come with the cabbage".
He also criticised the end of the institutes, which he considered "more flexible" than the national directorates.
"We don't agree with ending up with the institutes in order to get into the national directorates. This is more bureaucracy, more weight for the state, the institutes have more flexibility even to seek revenue," he argued, suggesting instead the merger between institutes.
"It is a mistake", he stressed, adding: "the government needs to listen to us more, we are more pragmatic".
