For the deputy of the Broad Convergence for the Salvation of Angola – Electoral Coalition (CASA-CE), in opposition, André Mendes de Carvalho, in the preparation of the 2022 General State Budget (OGE) "it is necessary to contemplate funds for hunger in the south of Brazil parents".
"In the field of the OGE, we have to take into account the problem of hunger in the south of the country, it is necessary that, in my point of view, a State of Emergency is decreed in that area and, once and for all, we find a solution to the problem hunger and it is a question that the OGE must attend to", said this Tuesday the deputy in statements to journalists.
Asked by Lusa whether the Angolan authorities should agree to such a claim, the CASA-CE deputy said he believed so, noting that "it is up to the various Angolan institutions to put the necessary pressure to make this happen."
"If, due to lower numbers of deaths, the pandemic led us to declare a State of emergency, well that situation (drought and famine in southern Angola) is recurrent and I think that at the level of political forces there must be a dynamic for this to be fulfilled" , said the deputy at the end of the meeting of the standing committee of the National Assembly, which approved the agenda for the opening of the fifth parliamentary year of the fourth legislature of parliament.
The President, João Lourenço, addresses this Friday, 15 October, a message on the State of the Nation during the solemn opening session of the 5th legislative year, this Tuesday approved the standing committee of the National Assembly.
The Catholic bishops defended, on Monday, the declaration of State of Emergency in the south of the country, due to the drought and hunger caused by the long drought, asking the authorities to "humility and not to confuse the hunger with the political issue".
"That the State of Emergency in the South of the country be declared to allow aid from the international community and that the PIIM (Integrated Intervention Program in Municipalities) prioritize programs to fight hunger and poverty", recommended the Angolan bishops at the end of their second annual assembly.
Regarding the request for a State of Emergency in southern Angola, explained Bishop Belmiro Chissengueti, CEAST spokesperson, "this request is due to the fact that the drought is being long and we know that by declaring a State of emergency, possibility of receiving external support".
Thousands of people, including adults and children, suffer the consequences of drought in the south of the country, with reports of "extreme hunger, deaths and malnutrition", derived from the long drought, a situation that contributes to the "forced emigration" of Angolans to the countries border crossings.
Regarding the issue of drought and hunger in southern Angola and the possibility of decreeing a State of Emergency in the region, the deputy of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA, in power), Tomás da Silva, said that the people " they are free to express their views", noting that in the region "various programs are being implemented by the executive".
"I think it is a program that is currently being carried out by the executive and I believe it is a matter on the table, we will see what the results are, what were the levels of implementation of the measures that were taken", he stressed.
The situation of drought and hunger in the south of the country has been monitored by the authorities, especially the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, who in recent years has visited some affected regions and announced the construction of infrastructure and the channeling of food aid to help populations.
Regarding the State of the Nation speech, Tomás da Silva believes that issues such as "the country's challenges for the coming years, crises, criminality" and others should guide João Lourenço's intervention.
"My expectation is that the President of the Republic will focus on the problem of the OGE, which is unavoidable, the problem of the pandemic, of the next general elections", also pointed out CASA-CE deputy André Mendes de Carvalho.
The deputy of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), the biggest opposition party, Maurilo Luyele, hopes that João Lourenço "brings some words that will bring Angolans closer together, uniting them for the challenges that lie ahead and for the harmonious participation in the 2022 electoral process".
