"This can be considered a step, in a good way, this council has a group of people who think in their own head and who say what they think, and this is what I hope the councilors will do and that I personally will do with the President" , said economist Carlos Rosado de Carvalho.
For the also journalist, one of the 46 members that make up the Economic and Social Council, recently created by the President, the Angolan head of state will not have to do what the councilors say.
"We are not going to say what the President wants to hear, but we are going to say what we think and make a contribution and, in the case of economists, I am sure that the President of the Republic will have better information to decide," he added.
Delma Monteiro, executive director of the Association for the Observatory of Public Policies from the Gender Perspective (Assoge), also in office, considers the council as a “privileged space for the influence of public policies”.
"We want to believe that we can make a real contribution to public policies that bring tangible improvements in the lives of economically vulnerable women in the country," he said.
The defender of the rights of “zungueira” women (street vendors), also said that Assoge, which advocates greater social inclusion, finds that "several programs approved over time ended up being exclusive to the 'zungueira' woman".
For her part, the economist and university professor Laurinda Hoyggard also pointed out the importance of the Economic and Social Council, composed of various sensitivities of Angolan civil society, for the country. "It is about the intention to enrich the contributions so that each time we have a better life for our country and all people", he said.
João Lourenço conferred this Tuesday with the members of the council and in his speech he declared that he had the knowledge and experience of the personalities that make up the body to find “the best ways out” of the difficult situation in which the country finds itself.
"Together we will discover the opportunities that lie behind what appears to be only difficulties, we will discover together the ways to create wealth and end poverty", underlined the President.
The members of the Economic and Social Council of Angola will have a two-year term.
