The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, will present his State of the Nation address on Tuesday, to be delivered at the opening of the third year (2024-2025) of the 5th Legislature of the National Assembly in compliance with the provisions of the Angolan Constitution.
For analysts Paulo Inglês and Albino Pakisi, in this message to the Nation, João Lourenço should acknowledge that hunger in the country is "destroying families, who are relying on garbage to survive", and announce that he will not make any constitutional changes to remain in power.
"The social situation [in the country] remains critical at this time. There are people going hungry and these are the points that the President of the Republic should address in his speech, and then also make it clear that there will be no third term and that he will not change the Constitution of the Republic of Angola (CRA), which the President [of the Republic] should also address", stated sociologist Paulo Inglês.
Speaking to Lusa about his expectations regarding João Lourenço's State of the Nation speech, scheduled for October 15, Inglês said that the head of the executive branch should present a summary of the Government's achievements "without any in-depth analysis of the country's situation".
João Lourenço "will want to justify himself by saying that he had some legislative initiatives and some economic measures and he will say that these are producing results, but they are not visible, I think that will be the line of his argument", said the social analyst.
Paulo Inglês lamented the country's current socioeconomic situation, asking for "clarity" in the President's speech regarding economic policy, which he says is not working, as "inflation has not gone down and the kwanza continues to fall".
"The President of the Republic will want to promote the issue of the national minimum wage, but we have already seen that that was a trick that was used, because, in fact, the minimum wage did not increase, there were just additions to the subsidies that were given to workers", said the teacher.
The government's social policy "is a total failure", stated Albino Pakisi, who hopes that the President "will admit, once and for all, that the country is facing social difficulties and that families are going hungry".
"We have children and families eating from garbage containers, so rather than the President of the Republic saying that hunger is relative, he must admit that hunger is not relative in order to find solutions", he noted.
"Even during the war, we did not have the social situation we have today, with broken families, going hungry, occupying garbage containers. From a social point of view, the government is a total failure, even with all the social programs it has. We need to admit this so that we can recognize and correct it with the data", he insisted.
Pakisi also argued, in an interview with Lusa, that the head of state should present the country's prospects for the three-year period 2025-2027, because the country's economic situation "is serious, with small, medium and large companies going bankrupt, making families increasingly poorer".
The analyst, theologian and philosopher said he hoped to hear an open discourse on the democratisation of Angola, highlighting that the country has approved "draconian laws, which are worse than in dictatorial countries", such as the law that criminalises vandalism of public property with penalties of up to 25 years in prison.
"It would be good if the President [of the Republic] spoke out on this", he argued, regretting seeing "some retreat in internal democracy" of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which "also affects the country".
Because, "if the MPLA is not a democratic party, it will not accept democracy for our country, that scares us. It was also important for the President to talk about freedoms", he lamented.
"Angola is a country where a considerable number of young people, considered 'revús' [as citizens who are critical of the Government are called], are fleeing the country and some are being detained, and the President of the Republic cannot turn a deaf ear to this situation, which tarnishes his reputation", concluded Albino Pakisi.
