In his speech, the leader of the parliamentary group of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), Américo Kuononoka, praised the administrative and security measures taken by the head of state, to guarantee the right to medical and sanitary assistance for the affected citizens, even if the contagion happened abroad.
"He said "the extension comes from the need to monitor the progress of the process and try to strengthen or lighten the facts that gave rise to the declaration of a state of emergency," he said, pointing out that so far the situation seems to be under control, "but care must be redoubled, avoiding the risk.
For her part, the vice-president of the parliamentary bench of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), Albertina Ngolo, said she hoped that, 30 days after the state of emergency had been declared, the multisectoral commission had made a multifaceted assessment to assess the impact of covid-19 on the economy and institutions, on economic agents and families, so that, in the event of renewal, "performance would be improved and the mistakes made in the early stages would be corrected".
"The 70 per cent weight of the informal sector in the Angolan economy, during the state of emergency, poses an enormous challenge to the state, to see the limits of the current restrictions, since companies in different sectors of the economy, families, 'zungueiras' [street vendors], taxi drivers, motorcycle taxi drivers, 'robots' [goods carriers] and others, who live on odd jobs, see their level of income deteriorate every day," he said.
Alexandre Sebastião, leader of the parliamentary group of the Broad Convergence for the Salvation of Angola - Electoral Coalition (CASA-CE), said he understood the President of the Republic's great concern to considerably restrict the spread of this virus, but expressed concern about the "inertia of the economic sector.
"He also stressed that it had been "a hard experience for the population, who for the first time see their mobility limited.
Benedito Daniel, member of the Social Renewal Party (PRS), stressed that if preventive measures were not taken, the country would be "heading for chaos", but agreed that it is the economic situation of the population, which is essentially embodied in informal trade, he worried.
"It is real that the market is revealing itself as the potential reservoir of transmission of the virus, but we also need to understand the needs of the people who depend on the market and who may constitute the majority of Angolans," he said.
The National Front for the Independence of Angola (FNLA) representation stressed that thanks to the government's spirit of anticipation, the country that already has cases of the disease, the balance of confinement of the last 30 days is globally positive.
"If this is the best way, we do not have the right to apply suicidal options that can cost too much and jeopardize our own existence," said Lucas Ngonda, recalling that, however, the consequences of the state of emergency "are also dramatic by the paralysis of the economy and the movement of people and goods.
Angola currently has 25 cases of covid-19 contagion, with two deaths.
