Mihaela Weba chaired this Thursday, in Luanda, the meeting between the parliamentary group of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and civil society to collect contributions for the Bill on the Effective Institutionalization of Local Authorities.
During the meeting, which included the presence of the policy analyst, Albino Pakisi, the secretary general of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé (CEAST), Celestino Epalanga, the executive director of Friends of Angola, Florindo Chivucute, from traditional authorities, several questions were raised and suggestions made.
The deputy lamented that Angola is the only country in the Southern region without local authorities, the same in the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP).
Mihaela Weba highlighted that "everything new is scary", but that time helps people to accept a new reality, giving the example, in Angola, of the implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT).
"We all started hearing about VAT and got scared, however, today practically everyone knows what VAT is, it is a tax that is paid for everything we buy, (...), when there is political will to things happen. There is no political will to have local authorities, that's all", she stated.
Asked whether UNITA has trained its staff in all municipalities to run for local authorities, the deputy said that training actions have been carried out with the collaboration of Spain, Mozambique and Cape Verde.
According to the deputy, the bill for the creation of local authorities, still in the public consultation phase, addresses issues raised by Mozambican colleagues, who shared their experiences.
One of them, cited Mihaela Weba, is that "you cannot transfer skills without money".
"We have already taken care of that. We managed to train, the training is continuous and continues to happen, but the time horizon of when the first local elections will actually be held, only the president of the MPLA [Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola] knows, because he is also the President of the Republic, he is the one who calls the elections", she said.
On the 1st of this month, the Government submitted to the National Assembly three new laws for the municipal legislative package, the Proposal for an Organic Law on the Institutionalization of Local Authorities, the Proposal for an Organic Law on the Municipal Guard and the Proposal for a Law Approving the Statute Remuneration for Heads of Bodies and Services of Local Authorities.
Mihaela Weba said that the UNITA parliamentary group only became aware of the Government's proposals eight days later, a procedure that she claimed was not common.
