Regarding the title of Doctor Honoris Causa, Kussumua said that "this distinction reinforces the purpose of continuing to serve Angola, with modesty and fidelity to the values that dignify public service".
"This title is not limited to the person who receives it. However, it represents the trust of the entire university community and the citizen called to remain faithful to the collective good, the capacity for national discernment and the elevation of our Nation", said the former minister, quoted in a statement from the National Assembly, to which VerAngola had access.
According to the honoree, "this honor represents the values of moral correctness and inner discipline that were attributed to him, constituting references throughout his public and private career".
"To the former presidents António Agostinho Neto and José Eduardo dos Santos, now deceased, and Lopo Fortunato Ferreira do Nascimento, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Angola, I express below my deep gratitude for inspiring me in the exercise of the public functions that I later assumed", added João Baptista Kussumua.
In addition to the title, the ceremony also included the unveiling of the plaque at the auditorium of the University of Luanda, named after the former minister.
According to the statement, it was up to the president of the National Assembly, Carolina Cerqueira, to "unveil the plaque at the auditorium of the University of Luanda, named after João Baptista Kussumua, during the solemn ceremony of the 2nd edition of the awarding of the title of Doctor Honoris Causa in honor of the former deputy and former minister of Social Reintegration".
"João Baptista Kussumua played a sublime, noble and humanist role, at a time when the country was emerging from a war that destroyed the social system, with negative and immeasurable effects. He effectively helped to create reconciliation and reconstruction of our country, to reunite estranged souls, to reunite families, and to contribute to Angola remaining one and indivisible", said the parliamentary leader.
The ceremony, which took place in the auditorium of the Faculty of Social Services at the University of Luanda, was witnessed by figures such as the "governor of the province of Luanda, deputies, ambassadors accredited in Angola, university professors, ecclesiastical entities, university students and family members and private guests of Doctor João Baptista Kussumua".
