Ver Angola

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Former combatants promise to take to the streets to claim the 130 billion kwanza debt

The Association of Retired Generals, Captains and Subalterns threatened to take to the streets on the 17th and 18th of this month, if the State does not settle the debt of 130 billion kwanzas.

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The information was advanced this Thursday to Lusa news agency, by the president of this association, Alberto Nelson "Limukeno", who asks the State to pay at least seven of the 13 years of this debt, leaving the rest behind, "taking into account the arguments of the financial crisis".

"The Angolan State, its executive, that it pay us our pension for military grade, that it pay the debt incurred since August 2009 to the present date. The debt has already completed 130 billion kwanzas (...) we even asked them to pay only half, that they pay us only seven years and the six years are forgotten," he said.

According to Limukeno, brigadier and former combatant, since the last promise of the State, in February of this year, there have been no more answers and the pension has never been paid.

In February the ex-combatants association suspended a demonstration after the government promised to meet the demands and pay half of the debt.

"We are demanding that they pay us our pension according to rank, captain as captain, major as major, brigadier as brigadier and leave us with that money. This is penalizing us and creating extreme poverty, we are dying of hunger," he stressed.

According to the associative leader, all the general officers, superiors and subalterns at the country level are suffering with the retirement cuts, applied based on article 28 of the service time in the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), which establishes that those who have not completed 30 years cannot receive the full pension.

"But the FAA has only existed for 28 years, the result of the Bicesse Accords between the MPLA [Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, ruling party] and UNITA [National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, opposition party]," he noted.

"It has nothing to do with us, we are former fighters and veterans of the homeland, we come from the ex-FAPLA, FALA, ELNA, FLEC, we have nothing to do with the FAA (...), we faced the battles of Kifangondo, Kuito Kuanavale, Ebo, Cangamba and other battles, transforming Angola into a power at the level of Africa and the world," he said.

"These discounts are very high, I am 66 years old and I am not entitled to anything, they cut the patent pension and the subsidy I had been receiving referring to the maids' allowance, alleging that the country is in crisis since August 2009," he lamented.

Limukeno said that the current defense minister was the only one in that period who called the former combatants to hold a dialogue.

"It was last year, he said, 'let's have a dialogue, because with dialogue problems are solved.' That's how he made the concern to the executive, to the President of the Republic, to solve this problem, but until now neither water goes nor water comes," he complained.

Since then, he continued, the only subsidy that has been reinstated is the one for domestic servants, starting in November 2020. For the generals, who were entitled to three maids, one was taken away, while the senior officers, from major to colonel, are entitled to one, with the amount varying between 74 thousand kwanzas and 150 thousand kwanzas.

The president of the association alleges that, in 2015, former President José Eduardo dos Santos had given an order to the Ministry of Finance to pay the debt, pointing out that the current Attorney General had signed a commitment, on behalf of the Angolan State, according to which the money would be paid in 2015, "infallibly, as soon as there was financial availability."

"We are in the year 2021 neither water goes and neither water comes, we are all plunged into extreme poverty, poverty is taking alarming proportions. We have scheduled the demonstration for the 17th and 18th of this month, if the state does not solve our problem urgently. We are really going to take to the streets, because patience has run out, we are all fed up, frustrated, discontented, and humiliated badly," he expressed.

The association is made up of 2,525 members.

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