Márcio Daniel, who closed the launching ceremony of the forum for collecting contributions for the preparation of the administrations' budget for the General State Budget (OGE) 2024, highlighted that there is still "a long way to go" for a participatory democracy, "but firm and courageous, bold and disruptive steps have been taken" in this direction.
This initiative by the Ministry of Territorial Administration, in partnership with the Action for Rural Development and Environment (ADRA) and the Angolan Institute of Electoral Systems and Democracy (IASED), aims to ensure that projects considered priorities by citizens, previously identified and duly analyzed, integrate the administrations' budgets in the 2024 financial year.
According to Márcio Daniel, the executive has made efforts to reinforce citizens' confidence "in what is the well-founded intentions of the State, when it invites citizens to get involved in these processes".
The official said that the program was drawn up taking into account the country's specificities, avoiding "normative solutions prepared in the West by tailors whose experiences have nothing to do with the Angolan reality", the same goes for its practical implementation.
According to Márcio Daniel, there are challenges with transportation, accommodation and food during the sessions, which is why the Angolan context obliges the State to invest financial resources, "which enable the effective participation of citizens in consultation meetings in communities, in communal headquarters and in municipal offices".
"Meeting with citizens in Norway is not the same as listening to citizens in Chicala Choloanga [Huambo province]; meeting with citizens in Switzerland is not the same as meeting with citizens in Capenda Camulenda [Lunda Norte province]. infrastructures are not the same, transport is not the same, restaurants are not the same, etc", he highlighted.
"For this reason, the State invested 410 million kwanzas so that in all municipalities there would be no lack of conditions so that citizens could, freely and effectively, present their contributions to the budget of their municipalities. We think that, based on the results that can come from this action, it is money well invested", he added.
At this time, municipal consultation sessions are taking place throughout the Angolan territory to collect contributions and prepare the budget for municipal administrations, for the 2024 budget proposal.
