Adalberto Costa Júnior was speaking in the province of Huíla, as part of the UNITA community conferences, giving his view on the State of the Nation speech that marks the beginning of the parliamentary year, on 15 October, and precedes the celebration of Angola's 50th anniversary of independence.
The politician invited João Lourenço “to refrain from making promises” and to try to show a country that is different from the one Angolans face every day, characterised by hunger and poverty.
“Let there be courage and a real characterisation of the country that includes the axes of the fight against hunger and poverty and that shows that our country, Angola, does not belong to the MPLA [Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola]; it belongs to all Angolans and should not be held hostage by a political party”, he urged.
Adalberto Costa Júnior considered that the celebration of 50 years of independence should not result in a waste of public funds to show a fictitious country, criticizing the Government for keeping the country hostage to the interests of the MPLA, and preventing improvements.
He alluded to the “hundreds of millions of dollars” spent on conferences to hide the censorship practiced in the media and stressed that independence was achieved through the struggles of all liberation movements and Angolan society.
Criticizing the government that “favors charm operations to distort the real image of the country”, the president of UNITA stressed that Angola remains mired in a vicious circle of poverty, marked by “frightening unemployment” and the decline of democracy and human rights, which has led to a huge exodus of Angolans in search of better living conditions.
He also lamented the groups of people who gather near the rubbish bins, “as they did not even during the military conflict”, where there are families and “unfortunately many children”, who are “the majority of Angola’s beggars”.
Adalberto Costa Júnior expressed concern about the absence of a welfare state and rampant poverty, stressing that 50 percent of Angolans (18 million people) live on less than two dollars a day and cited international reports that show worsening poverty, malnutrition and lack of health conditions, a “dramatic picture” that the Government wants to solve “with a pair of scissors, breaking the country into pieces and creating new provinces and municipalities”.
The UNITA leader also spoke about the errors in economic policies that “have increased systemic and cyclical problems” in Angola and corruption, criticising direct adjustments, the use of State resources to favour the party in power and the “judicialisation” of politics.
“The party-state has placed Angola in a position of and the Angolans in a bottomless pit from which it will be difficult to escape”, he stressed, guaranteeing that UNITA has a “democratic vocation and is ready to democratically govern” the country.
Still on the “difficult and troubled times” that Angola is experiencing, the UNITA leader warned of the need for a prudent alignment with world powers, considering that interaction with these giants should serve to enhance development, but above all to strengthen institutions.
“There are no free lunches”, warned the opposition leader, stating that there are no innocent or idyllic interactions, giving as an example the Americans “who turned to Angola” due to their interest in transporting minerals through the Lobito Corridor.
“Only Angolans can help Angolans”, highlighted Adalberto Costa Júnior, calling for “serious reforms” and for “patriotic forces to join together in a common effort”.
