On Tuesday, the members of the Council of the Republic considered, for the most part, that there are no conditions to hold the country's first municipal elections, a position criticized by the largest opposition party, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA ) that attributed the decision to fear of defeat by the ruling party (MPLA).
Asked about the position taken by some councilors of the Republic who disagree with the postponement, João Lourenço stated that "what counts are the conclusions reached by this body", regardless of the individual position of its members, and stressed that the Council considered that there were no conditions for the realization of the municipal elections this year because some preconditions have not been concluded, and the municipal legislative package is yet to be concluded.
The President of the Republic responded to journalists after the inauguration of the new hospital in Bié, named after Canadian missionary doctor Walter Strangway, who worked for 39 years in Angola at the beginning of the last century.
The head of state underlined that the National Assembly made "a very large effort" to approve part of the municipal legislative package, but stressed that only with the approval of all laws will the holder of the executive branch be in a position to listen to political and arrive at the definition of a date to call the country's first municipal elections, which were scheduled for 2020.
"Everything else is just mutual accusations, looking for culprits, but in this process there are no culprits. Everyone is working, both the executive and the parliament, to bring together the conditions that will make the elections possible", highlighted João Lourenço.
Asked about information that shows that a front of opposition parties is being organized to face the MPLA in the next general elections, in 2022, João Lourenço considered that "if this is recognition that individually political parties, running alone, do not have the ability to face the opponent (...), are entitled to call on friends and neighbors to help defeat the opponent ".
The President also affirmed, after the inauguration of the new hospital, with 230 beds and provision of 20 specialized services, that the executive is committed to continuing to make investments not only in infrastructure, but also in the training of medical and paramedical personnel to "minimize the suffering "of the population.
"We work to try to reduce, or eliminate, the medical joints that the country has known over the decades," he said, recalling that thousands of Angolans were sent abroad for treatment, which represents a very large expense. and that the government wants to reverse ".
"The large resources that we have been spending in reference hospitals outside Angola are going to spend them here, we are going to invest in Angola in reference hospitals like this and others," he continued.
Joao Lourenço also said that the government planned to open in Luanda this year "at least four important hospital units", which "probably" will not be done due to the covid-19 pandemic, promising to do so next year.
On the same day that the chief executive visited Bié, four demonstrations were held in Luanda, including one called by the National Union of Doctors of Angola, to honor pediatrician Sílvio Dala, who died as part of an intervention police in suspicious circumstances and not yet fully clarified.
The President of the Republic was not asked about the matter.
