"The President of the Republic spoke about the municipalities and I believe that in this term the municipalities will leave, that is my conviction, in fact the President spoke about it, he said that they are creating conditions in some municipalities with infrastructure and it is even already thinking about the municipalities", said the deputy on Saturday.
In statements at the end of the message to the Nation by the President, João Lourenço, the politician from the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) said that the parliament will have to discuss the period for holding the local councils.
"The time horizon has to be discussed by the parliament, there is no law to be approved, eventually it will be necessary to correct other laws and conform them with the changes that have been made to the Constitution and I believe that in the space of two years we will have municipalities, that is my conviction", he pointed out.
The President reiterated on Saturday, in his State of the Nation speech, his commitment to the creation of municipalities, without advancing dates, and announced the construction of 35 assemblies for local authorities and residential complexes in 36 municipalities.
The clarification on this issue was one of the most awaited in João Lourenço's speech, which on Saturday marked the opening of the parliamentary year in Angola, after the chief executive once again took on the commitment to institutionalize local authorities, in case his party won the elections held last August 24th.
However, it only emerged in almost the second hour of a long speech, marked by a string of numbers in the form of an inventory of the achievements of his first term and a handful of promises for the next five years.
With the municipal legislative package practically concluded, João Lourenço reiterated the intention to institutionalize the municipalities, stressing that the lack of infrastructure for future municipalities must be resolved.
Therefore, and taking into account that one of the main difficulties for several municipalities is the establishment of staff in their territory, especially those in the most remote locations, the construction of residential complexes in 36 municipalities is already underway, as well as 35 assemblies for the local authorities.
The MPLA vice-president, Luísa Damião, was also asked about the holding of municipal elections, following the intervention of João Lourenço, having highlighted the need to complete the municipal legislative package.
"You know that municipal elections can only be called when all the necessary conditions have been created for the President of the Republic to be able to do so, you must also know that it was the MPLA that put the issue of municipalities on the political agenda" he replied to journalists.
The MPLA "is one of the parties that is interested in the actual implementation of the autarchies after all the conditions have been created", she added.
"We have already taken a big step and I think that the deputies will make efforts to pass this law", she stressed.
The Law on the Institutionalization of Local Authorities is the only diploma in the municipal legislative package, but the opposition says there is a lack of political will on the part of the MPLA for its approval.
The President also stated, in his speech, that he remains committed to strengthening local power and announced that he will present a bill on traditional authorities and the institutional relations between them and the State.
The executive will also start the re-registration of traditional authorities, "recognising those who have such a title by the line of succession", stressed the head of state.
João Lourenço's speech on the State of the Nation formally marked the opening of the 1st legislative session of the V Legislature of the National Assembly of Angola, which emerges from the elections of 24 August in which 220 deputies were elected.
