According to the Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Azevedo, the document, which was assessed this Wednesday by the Council of Ministers, arises from the need to work on specialized legislation, despite there already being legislation on this matter in other instruments cool.
"But it was necessary for us to come together on a specialized law that would also make everything more expeditious so that we could combat this phenomenon", the minister told the press at the end of the meeting.
Diamantino Azevedo stressed that the problem will not be resolved with this proposed law, but with "several measures that converge to resolve the issue".
"The country actually has a lot of losses, because this also interferes with the supply of the national market itself and is also a question of national sovereignty", he stressed.
When the law is approved, the country will have an instrument not only to coerce those involved, but also to facilitate action, to embarrass offenders, he said.
"This, with all the other measures that are intended to be taken, could put an end to this issue that affects the entire economic system of the country", he highlighted.
The various types of smuggling, typified in the proposal, are combined into a single law, as well as the criminal framework for these crimes and more expeditious forms of action.
Every week, national authorities announce the seizure of significant quantities of petroleum derivatives, the majority of which are destined for the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country with which it shares an extensive border, and there is also a record of fuel smuggling in the south, to neighboring Namibia.
The press release from this meeting states that the proposal for a National Security Law was also considered for submission to parliament, to conform the current organization and functioning of the national security system to the principles and standards established in the Constitution of the Republic, as well as to the national and international context, guaranteeing national independence and sovereignty, defense and territorial integrity, the democratic rule of law, the security of populations and their assets and the protection of national heritage.
Within the framework of foreign policy, the Council of Ministers approved, for submission to parliament, several bilateral instruments, among which the Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement between Angola and the European Union stands out, with a view to facilitating the attraction, expansion and the retention of foreign direct investment between the parties, for the purpose of economic diversification and sustainable development.
