In a statement to the press, the first secretary of the board, Manuel Dembo, said that the parliamentary group of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) made "unfounded accusations against the institutional integrity of the National Assembly", alleging that its president, Carolina Cerqueira, "had blocked 16 requests for parliamentary hearings of different ministers of the Angolan Executive".
The parliament's position follows a press conference by the UNITA parliamentary group on Wednesday, in which it accused the president of the National Assembly of "obstructing the oversight action" of that body.
According to Manuel Dembo, UNITA claimed that "the exercise of the right to propose parliamentary hearings by deputies, through their parliamentary group, does not invalidate or prevent in any way the requested hearing from being organised and carried out by the Specialised Working Committees, in accordance with the law".
The understanding of the UNITA parliamentary group is mistaken, according to Manuel Dembo, because it "confuses a power that the current Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly grant only to the Specialized Working Committees and not to the parliamentary groups".
The current Rules of Procedure, in its article 167, he stated, establishes that it is the power of the Specialized Working Committees to hold parliamentary hearings, request information from the public administration, and travel to bodies and entities in relation to the matter, to verify compliance with the laws and resolutions of the National Assembly, with the authorisation of its president.
The rules, Manuel Dembo also stated, dictate that only the Specialized Working Committees may request information from public administration bodies; hold parliamentary hearings; travel to any bodies and entities, and not the parliamentary groups, stressing that "any travel requires the authorisation of the president of the National Assembly".
"Likewise, all oversight actions carried out by the Specialised Working Committees require prior consultation between the President of the National Assembly and the Executive, as provided for in Article 167.2 of the National Assembly's Rules of Procedure", he stressed.
The National Assembly's powers of control and oversight are defined by the Constitution, regulated by the National Assembly's Rules of Procedure, and "guided, among others, by the principle of separation and interdependence of functions between sovereign bodies, by the principle of civility and courtesy between deputies, government officials and other public leaders and managers, as well as by the principle of institutional cooperation", the deputy stressed.
Manuel Dembo stressed that the legislative body has been carrying out, through the Specialised Working Committees, hearings and visits to public institutions and provinces with the due authorisation of the President of the National Assembly, actions that also take place "through the necessary coordination and coordination with the respective institutions" and "within the parameters of the Constitution and the Law, always safeguarding the public interest".
At the press conference, the UNITA parliamentary group considered that the inquiry into its deputies is politically motivated and aims to intimidate and coerce them in their oversight mission, referring to a visit made in April by five deputies from the party to observe the functioning of the Luanda Central Morgue and the Huambo General Hospital, which led to criticism from the National Assembly, accusing them of taking advantage of the "distress of the families" to film and disseminate images "that violate civility and the rules governing the exercise of parliamentary functions" with "undisclosed ends".
