José de Lima Massano, who until Thursday held the position of governor of the National Bank of Angola (BNA), was speaking to journalists at the end of the swearing-in ceremony in the position in which he replaced Manuel Nunes Júnior.
"We are going to work with the financial system and then we will be able to carry out a review and see with greater realism the existing capacity to ensure that the cards can all be delivered and can be in full operation, so that the benefit that was defined can reach the citizens who carry out transport and fishing activities and can actually take advantage of it and not weigh too much the costs for the whole economy", said José de Lima Massano.
The ruler considered this "a topic of great concern".
"Guidance has been given and we are going to quickly seek to have the operational conditions in place so that this discomfort is minimized", he stressed.
The President, speaking at the ceremony, said that José de Lima Massano had taken office at a time when "a delicate dossier" was in progress.
"There comes a time when you will find a delicate dossier, but we need to solve it not only to the satisfaction of the economy, but also of the citizens who somehow end up being affected", underlined João Lourenço, without specifying the topic.
The Government implemented a week ago the gradual reduction of the fuel subsidy, starting by increasing the price of gasoline, which went from 160 kwanzas to 300 kwanzas, exempting taxi drivers, motorcycle taxi drivers and small-scale fishing boats, to mitigate the impact of the measure on families more vulnerable.
To subsidize this class, a personalized card was created, which will only be awarded to licensed operators, to compensate for this price increase.
In practice, there has been a delay in the allocation of these cards, which has already led to some protests, more serious in the provinces of Huambo and Huíla, which resulted in deaths and injuries in the confrontation between demonstrators and the police.
The Minister of State for Economic Coordination also stressed that he will do everything in his power to respond to another orientation from the holder of executive power, with regard to the issue of economic diversification.
"There is a set of programs already defined, the great challenge is actually to take care of their execution and, for that, we will need to count on the help and support of everyone and when we refer to the support of everyone, we mean the business community, the most various economic agents, citizens, and be able to, together, overcome the great challenges that arise in our economy", he stressed.
José de Lima Massano reiterated his struggle to reduce inflation, underlining that, on the Government's side, it is necessary to bear in mind its set of responsibilities and ensure that the inflation targets can be achieved.
"We have the central bank with primary responsibility, but there are still a number of shortcomings, also of a structural nature, which are the responsibility of the Government and there we have to act effectively in the face of the limited resources that we have available, but ensure that price stability is a reality. With that we will also be able to preserve income, protect the quality of life of our citizens", he said.
