"The training lasts six months and will prepare the district finance delegates - to whom future elected mayors will respond directly - for the financial and administrative management of Angola's 18 provinces," that college explained in a statement sent to the Lusa agency.
According to Georgina Morais, vice-president of Coimbra Business School, "the district finance delegates will have a key role in the future management of the country: they will transmit the skills acquired in training to the elected bodies for the financial management of each municipality.
The post-graduate course in Municipal Financial Management is exclusively directed at 20 senior ministry staff and adapted to Angola's political needs.
Coimbra Business School was referred to the Angolan Ministry of Finance by the current financial delegate from Luanda and former student of the institution, the statement said.
"The quality of our teaching, recognized by our former student, as well as the good practices of autarchic management in Portugal, opened doors to this partnership," says Georgina Morais.
The training is totally 'online' and has a curricular plan that, although similar to the one taught by Coimbra Business School in Portugal, is adjusted to what will be the new governmental reality of the country.
"Most of the curricular units are the same, because they present the general foundations of this area, but there are some specific contents that were requested by the Angolan Ministry of Finance," says the school's vice-president.
Cooperation agreements, management of community funds and the elaboration of municipal management reports are examples of new areas that have been added to the post-graduate curriculum plan, along with the subjects of accounting, local government or public administration.
"The training teaching staff also includes highly specialized Portuguese professionals in municipal management, with direct links to local authorities in Portugal," stresses Coimbra Business School.
The opening session of the post-graduate course took place on August 25 and was attended by the representative of the Angolan Ministry of Finance, Manuel Freire, the vice-president of Coimbra Business School, Georgina Morais, and the course coordinator, Maria da Conceição Marques.
