"This investigation was politically motivated and aims to intimidate and coerce the deputies who are responsible for overseeing the government's actions," said Liberty Chiyaka, president of the parliamentary group of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).
Speaking at a press conference about an investigation opened against the five deputies of his parliamentary group for investigating the operation of the Luanda Central Morgue and the Huambo General Hospital, the politician contested the measure, admitting "political motivations" in this decision.
"[Parliamentary] oversight is a democratic form, without violence (...). There is no basis for sanctioning the deputies, because they have not committed any infraction," he said, emphasizing that the right to oversee cannot be denied to the deputies, "regardless of the control of the parliamentary majority."
At least five UNITA deputies are under parliamentary investigation for having recently visited the Luanda Central Morgue, "where they found the deplorable state of conservation of corpses", and the Huambo General Hospital, the politician recalled.
The visit took place in mid-April and led to criticism from the National Assembly, which accused the UNITA deputies of taking advantage of the "distress of the families" to film and release images "that violate civility and the rules governing the exercise of parliamentary functions" with "undisclosed ends".
In view of "the recurring reprehensible behavior from an ethical and moral point of view, the competent committee of the National Assembly responsible for matters of Ethics and Parliamentary Decorum has already been instructed to investigate the reasons for such behavior", the parliament announced at the time, in a statement signed by the institutional communications department.
Chiyaka, who also addressed the National Assembly's powers of control and oversight, regretted that the president of the parliament, Carolina Cerqueira, had not responded to UNITA's requests to hold 16 parliamentary hearings with members of the government, after more than 100 days.
"More than 100 days have passed and the president of the National Assembly has not deigned to make the requested hearings possible," he said, considering that Carolina Cerqueira "cannot block or hinder the exercise of the deputies' potestative power."
According to the UNITA deputy, the president of the parliament "has repeatedly and blatantly obstructed the right of the deputy to perform the functions of control and oversight safeguarded by the Constitution."
Emphasizing that the deputies and their respective parliamentary groups are autonomous, he assured that his party will fight against any act that obstructs the free exercise of the functions of the sovereign bodies.
According to Liberty Chiyaka, UNITA has sent several requests for urgent parliamentary hearings to members of the Angolan executive branch since the beginning of the year, especially on public security, health and finances, but has not received a response.
For the president of the UNITA parliamentary group, the president of the National Assembly "has acted as a blocking factor in the oversight of the acts of the executive branch's management by the people's deputies".
"And no one has any doubt, either, that this blocking attitude constitutes an obvious violation of the Constitution, which seriously undermines the regular functioning of the institutions, in this case, the National Assembly", he criticized.
Liberty Chiyaka reported that her party intends to hear from the Minister of Youth and Sports to "clarify" the country's expenses with the football match between the Angolan and Argentine national teams (world champions), as part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the country's independence.
