José de Lima Massano made the announcement at the end of the formal act of delivery of the proposal for the General Budget of the State of Angola for 2024 (OGE-2024), which foresees revenues and expenses of 24.7 billion kwanzas.
"In the proposal we bring, for the public service we are also considering an increase in salaries of around 5 percent. This increase, as presented in the proposal, is transversal, meaning that it includes all public service workers and we also leave a reserve so that in the next financial year, for the health, education and agriculture sectors, we can also continue to create space for the recruitment of more professionals", said José de Lima Massano in statements to the press.
The government official considered the budget proposal for 2024 "balanced", noting that it also seeks to meet the objectives and goals contained in the National Development Plan (PDN).
According to José de Lima Massano, the PDN leads to continuous investment in human capital, which is why a set of investments will be continued in the areas of health, education, in general, and social well-being.
"But also bearing in mind the need, by giving sustainability to the set of social policies, to have an economy that can be more rigorous, more robust", said the government official, adding that this proposal also has a set of policies that will allow this path to continue stimulus, particularly for national production.
The Minister of State for Economic Coordination highlighted that, in the field of stimulating production, the Government is reiterating the emphasis on food security, so among the various new features in this budget proposal, he highlighted the one that allows agricultural producers to, in headquarters of the industrial tax, recover investments made in some infrastructures that should be the responsibility of the State.
"We have, for example, access to production areas, energy transmission, water treatment plants, necessary for the development of agricultural and livestock activities which, in many cases, are carried out at costs by the promoters themselves, costs which are not fiscally recoverable. For this 2024 budget, this is a profound change that we are making, very much in line with this sense of continuing to stimulate and protect our production", he highlighted.
José de Lima Massano stressed that the OGE-2024 proposal will continue the large investments, in the most varied areas, with the purpose of improving the living conditions of citizens.
The budget proposal for 2024, he also revealed, also includes close to 500 billion kwanzas for the capitalization of the African Development Bank (BDA), FACRA, the Venture Capital Fund, the Credit Guarantee Fund and for the issuance of sovereign guarantees in favor of projects that are of national interest.
"Projects that will increase production capacity, allow the recruitment of more people, we also have this consideration in the budget proposal", he declared, stating that improving the business environment "is an absolute priority".
