In an interview with RTP África, the head of government took a positive view of his term, despite "two years almost dead" due to the covid-19 pandemic, pointing out the "good business environment", the fight against corruption that " is also going well" and the diversification of the economy as some of the highlights.
He admitted that "Angola is not a paradise", having suffered the consequences of the pandemic and the global economic and financial crisis, and more recently the war in Ukraine, but highlighted positive aspects such as the fall in the prices of basic food products, as well as the increase in salaries in the civil service, guaranteeing that there was also a recovery of employment thanks to the greater intervention of the private sector, which has been gaining ground.
He stated, on the other hand, that he does not know "youth contestation" in Angola, where there has never been a yellow vest movement either.
"What we have been witnessing is the mobilization of a small group of young people, by an opposition party, which leads them to commit acts of vandalism, and that are not representative of Angolan youth", stressed João Lourenço.
"I don't think there is any contestation from the Angolan youth", reinforced the President, who also does not see "disillusionment" among this social layer, highlighting the investments made "in favor of the Angolan people" and which went beyond the promises he made when ran for the presidency for the first time.
He promised, in a second term (João Lourenço is re-candidate for the position in the next general elections scheduled for 24 August) to continue with major projects, namely the improvement of the national road network, fight against drought, electrification of the country, a new airport for Luanda , the deep water port of Caio and the hydroelectric dam of Caculo Cabaça.
Following the theme of the elections, he assumed that there are no easy victories, but said that he is working "hard" not to hand over power to the opposition and that he does not stay in Luanda waiting for miracles, leaving every weekend for the other provinces.
A pace that even led Portuguese President Marcelo Rebele de Sousa to say "don't get tired so much" because "you don't have to", he confided, promising to accelerate even more in the electoral campaign phase "to ensure there are no surprises".
Showing that he was optimistic about a second term and about the future of Angola, a country in which the international community "has more confidence today", he concluded: "I can only see good days for Angola".
