The head of state's statements were made this Wednesday, at the inauguration ceremony of the new members of the executive, including the new Minister of State for the Social Area, Maria do Rosário Bragança, and the new minister of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Paula Regina Simões de Oliveira.
"When we nominated those appointed today, we sought to reward merit. This is because some of the governors – I don't know if I'm talking about male or female, perhaps female; Pereira Alfredo is isolated there – some of the governors appointed, until 48 hours ago, were administrators municipalities", said João Lourenço.
"And, due to the good work carried out in the municipalities, they deserved our trust and, as such, we think the time has come to elevate them to the category of provincial governors", he added.
Regarding the provincial governors who were moved to another province, João Lourenço clarified that these departures were due to the fact that these governors were going to perform the "function of firefighter". In other words, if they were doing a good job where they were, the expectation is that they will do the same or better in the provinces that they take over from now on.
"There is the case of someone who was already governor and was moved. I'm referring to the current governor of Cuanza Sul, who comes from Cabinda; the current governor of Huambo, who comes from Bié. People sometimes ask themselves: 'But then, if they were doing a good job, why did they leave?'", he asked.
"And I, half jokingly, say that they leave to perform the role of firefighter. Therefore, if they did a good job where they were, what we hope is that they will do the same or better in the provinces where they were appointed now", he replied.
The President of the Republic also said that it is "very good" when you are exonerated because there is a need for these exonerated people to occupy other positions: "It is very good when we are exonerated because we need the exonerated person for other functions: moving from municipality to province, or moving from one province, where we are doing a good job, to another where we intend to obtain other results".
"I'm going to have a brief meeting – because it's not normal in a single inauguration ceremony to have five governors straight away – I'm going to have a brief meeting, now, right after, with them, which has not been the norm, in the hope that we will return to be together in a few days in the city of Ondjiva, at the Local governance meeting", he further said.
At the end of his speech, he also left those inducted with "best wishes for good work and many successes in their new roles".
In addition to the new ministers, at the ceremony, they were sworn in Celeste Elavoco David Adolfo (governor of Bié), Suzana Fernanda Pemba Massiala de Abreu (governor of Cabinda), Mara Regina da Silva Baptista Domingos Quiosa (governor of Cuanza Sul), Pereira Alfredo (governor of of Huambo), Filomena Elizabete Chitula Miza Aires (governor of Lunda Norte).
Inauguration was also conferred on Álvaro da Cunha Cândido dos Santos (Secretary of State for Fisheries and Marine Resources), Constantina Pereira Furtado Machado (deputy governor of the province of Cuanza Norte for the Political, Social and Economic Sector) and Michel Raimundo Luzolo (vice-governor of the province of Cuanza Norte for Technical Services and Infrastructures).
New governors with priorities focused on the social sector
The new governors of Bié, Cabinda, Lunda Norte, Cuanza Sul and Huambo said that their attention will be focused on the social sector. The newly appointed governors took office this Wednesday, having, on the occasion, highlighted the improvement of social infrastructures as a priority of their mandates.
The new governor of Bié, Celeste Adolfo, speaking to the press at the end of the act of taking office, committed to improving the living conditions of local citizens, which is one of her responsibilities from now on, and added that she will follow-up to ongoing initiatives to develop the province, with a special focus on improving roads, as well as water and energy supply in all municipalities, writes Angop.
The governor of Cabinda, Suzana de Abreu, pointed out that the objective is to collaborate with all inhabitants to advance on the path of socioeconomic progress in the region, while the governor of Cuanza Sul, Mara Quiosa, pointed out that the priority will be in identifying the main concerns of citizens, and more attention should be paid to the areas of education, health and infrastructure.
Quoted by Angop, the governor of Huambo, Pereira Alfredo, highlighted the importance of talking to citizens to develop new initiatives within the scope of the desired progress for the province.
