Adriano Mendes de Carvalho presented the socioeconomic situation and the main challenges in Zaire during a meeting with João Lourenço, who paid a few hours' visit to the capital of that province, the historic city of Mbanza Congo, classified as a World Heritage Site this Wednesday. by UNESCO.
Among the problems identified by the governor, fuel smuggling stood out, “the cancer of the province” which, he considered, could be resolved.
“We cannot continue like this. It seems like a lie but the smugglers are strong. There will be no development if we continue on this path of smuggling, no one will come here and want to wait three or four hours in a fuel queue and then be told that the fuel has run out", lamented the officer.
Adriano Mendes de Carvalho said that “trucks and trucks of fuel enter Zaire every day and after an hour and a half the pump has no more fuel”.
"Comrade President, we want to ask for your support, and that of the competent bodies, to see how we can work in this situation that has been a very, very big misfortune for us", appealed the governor, addressing João Lourenço.
He also stated that it is essential to quickly acquire “scanners” to inspect “what is actually going on in these trucks”, highlighting “a ridiculous case” of a supposed (religious) mother who was taking some children.
He also requested support to “make the city of Mbanza Congo a large open-air museum, thus taking advantage of the great historical potential of Congo culture", in order to receive more visitors.
The governor said that the existing airport will be deactivated soon, due to the redevelopment of the historic center of Mbanza Congo, and interventions are being prepared at various levels.
He considered that the province has tourism potential and can contribute to the diversification of the economy in several areas, although “the state of the roads complicates” development.
The provincial government wants to boost historical and cultural tourism, with emphasis on the city of Mbanza Congo and also promote tourism on the coastal and river coast, despite the lack of quality hotel infrastructure, as recognized by Adriano Mendes de Carvalho.
Zaire has one of the largest oil and gas production hubs in Angola, in Soyo, contributing significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and other mineral resources such as phosphate, copper, gold, lead, zinc are in the prospecting phase. , etc.
More than 60 percent of the population practices subsistence agriculture and it is estimated that there are more than one million and 200 hectares of arable land, of which only 5 percent are being used, the governor highlighted, adding that there is also an abundance fishing and salt, which are underutilized.
Adriano Mendes de Carvalho also pointed out difficulties in the population's access to basic services, including drinking water, electricity, communication routes, health, basic sanitation and transport.
He also defended the construction of a new road between Soyo and Mbanza Congo, to create a "union between the coast and the interior".
The project portfolio of the Integrated Plan for Intervention in Municipalities (PIIM) in this province is made up of 97 evaluated projects, of which 42 are completed and 21 are in progress, with an execution level of around 60 percent, but there are six contracts that will be terminated due to default by companies, he said.
In Zaire, in addition to the morning meeting with the provincial government, João Lourenço will also visit the works of the Zaire general hospital.
