The document, approved with 176 votes in favor and two abstentions from the Wide Convergence of Salvation of Angola - Electoral Coalition (CASA-CE), was presented by the Minister of State and Chief of Staff of the President of the Republic, Adão de Almeida, who started for reading João Lourenço's letter addressed to the parliament requesting and justifying the amendment request.
The letter begins by underlining that this is the first independent Penal Code of Angola and that, despite significant legislative progress compared to the code still in force, it still does not deal with the matter of recovering the values of probity in the exercise of public functions and national commitment. preventing and combating corruption at all levels.
According to the President, the recent evolution of Angolan society in general imposes a "permanent capacity to adapt the view on phenomena", with a view to building a society of peace, justice and social progress.
"Today we know better than yesterday the economic and social damage caused by improbity in public action and we understand better the vital importance of the clarity and assertiveness of the message, which we must permanently convey to society about this harmful phenomenon", underlined João Lourenço in the letter.
The PR stressed that the perspective presented by the new Penal Code "may not be in line with the current view and convey an equivocal message regarding the crimes committed in the exercise of public functions".
For the head of state, articles 357 et seq., In particular crimes of economic participation in business, influence peddling and corruption in the public sector, obeying the general guidelines of criminal policy reform, which influenced its making, "paradoxically tend to establish less severe penalties than those provided for in the Penal Code still in force ".
"With a view to the general prevention of crime and the preventive defense of high social values, I believe it is important and crucial that the clear message of the commitment of the Angolan State, public servants and each its citizens, with the fight against corruption, impunity and the other illegal manifestations that integrate the concept of white collar crime ", he considered.
On the other hand, João Lourenço observed that the reference to what was established for theft crimes "undervalues embezzlement, reduces the importance of the legal assets and values that it aims to safeguard", proposing that "the autonomy of the statute would not only simplify the interpretation and application, as it would reinforce the importance of embezzlement, as a legal type of crime, clarifying the preventive message of such practices ".
The President also stressed that the new Penal Code addresses the crimes of robbery and theft in the same way, in its simple and qualified modalities, establishing a 12-year sentence for both, when considerably high assets and values are involved, however, taking into account Since theft is part of the violence element, the proposal is in the direction of a more serious sanction.
João Lourenço also considered it essential to introduce a sufficiently inhibitory approach to environmental crimes, for the defense of the environment, "increasingly important and necessary for the present and future of the planet, both for human beings and for other species. ", requesting a more balanced treatment between the extent of the damage, in most collective cases, and the liability of the agent and the potential for reparation.
