Without mentioning dates for the conclusion of the process, João Lourenço addressed the topic during his message on the state of the Nation, this Monday, at the opening of the parliamentary year, highlighting that he did his part with the preparation and presentation to the National Assembly of the proposed laws of the so-called "municipal package".
The proposed law on the institutionalization of local authorities is the only diploma in the municipal legislative package that has not yet been approved, having been scheduled since 2020.
The MPLA, the party in power and which has 124 of the 220 deputies in the National Assembly, defends the principle of gradualism in the implementation of local authorities, while UNITA, the largest opposition party, with 90 deputies, wants to hold local elections throughout the country. national territory simultaneously.
"We know that we are looking for the greatest possible consensus on this matter of national interest, a situation that, as we know, has been going on for years, although the approval of these laws does not require a qualified majority of two thirds of the votes of the deputies, which is sufficient that accept the votes of an absolute majority", said the President, indirectly holding the National Assembly responsible for the failure to advance the process.
João Lourenço pointed out, on the other hand, the ongoing reforms in the State's local administration "to reinforce its organization and institutional capacity" and to promote "an increasingly participatory governance that is prepared for the challenges of administrative decentralization, resulting from the process of institutionalization of local authorities".
As he indicated, the first two administrative and municipal structures have been completed and six more are under construction, as well as 34 administrative residential complexes to facilitate the placement of staff in municipalities and 32 municipal assemblies.
Work is also in its final phase to change the political-administrative division that will give rise to two more Angolan provinces, in addition to the current 18, resulting from the subdivision of Moxico and Cuando Cubango, the two largest in the country.
"With this exercise we will have administrative power closer to citizens and more capable of addressing the resolution of communities' problems", stressed the chief executive.
The President also spoke about municipalities that "exercise more powers today" and are collecting more revenue, which encourages the transfer of more and more powers from central administration to local administration.
"We, however, maintain our commitment to the institutionalization of municipal power in the form in which it is negotiated by deputies in the National Assembly", he reiterated.
