Sérgio Santos was speaking this Thursday in the National Assembly during the approval, in general, of the Proposed Law on the Legal Regime of Free Trade Zones, which passed with 191 votes in favour, none against and six abstentions.
The government stressed in the presentation of the draft law that it is not the task of the state to build industrial development poles, special economic zones or even free zones.
"This idea that the role of the State is to build enterprises, industrial parks, stores, has to be adjusted, this paradigm has changed, this is not the role of the State", said Sérgio Santos, stressing that the State will "find resources, make projects and implement public investment projects - water, energy and access infrastructures".
According to the minister, the task of building industrial parks, shops and other equipment is the entrepreneurs'.
On the other hand, the ruler said that the idea that free zones are going to be large enterprises must also be eliminated.
"They may be enterprises that entrepreneurs want to promote and they don't necessarily need to be big enterprises, this idea has to be corrected", he said.
The holder of the Angolan Economy and Planning portfolio stressed that the free zone is mainly for national investors, although "there is no doubt that one wants foreign investment to come to Angola".
"But free zones are not necessarily for foreign investors, they are fundamentally in our case for domestic investors, who want to bring their foreign partners, a lever for negotiation that is free," he added.
According to Sérgio Santos, it is up to the State to define where the free zones will be established and to prioritize those that have the level of development that deserves the attention of the executive and those that promote the reduction of regional asymmetries.
In order to achieve these objectives, a range of tax, customs, labour, migration and exchange rate incentives will be required.
In the report on the grounds for the draft law, it is stated that the creation of free trade zones represents a new paradigm in the socio-economic development process of the Republic of Angola, through the establishment of delimited free trade areas on national territory, with benefits, special regimes and modern infrastructure, it is hoped to quickly transform the country into an ideal place for the birth of large competitive international companies and thus accelerate economic growth.
Free zones could include housing areas to serve workers, but also people interested in living in fast-growing spaces that can become real metropolises.
