Liberty Chiaka was speaking this Tuesday after the speech on the State of the Nation that the President gave in the National Assembly, at the opening of the parliamentary year, and which was marked by protests by deputies from UNITA, the largest opposition party, who interrupted João Lourenço demanding "local authorities, now!"
"As a parliamentary group we want to reaffirm our greatest motivation to demand the approval of the only law that is missing within the framework of the institutionalization of local authorities", stated the deputy, highlighting that the President of the Republic wanted to "throw responsibilities" to the Assembly National.
João Lourenço considered "false and misleading" the narrative that the institutionalization of local authorities would depend solely on his will and that with a simple administrative act he could call municipal elections as soon as the National Assembly completes the legislative package in his possession.
"Deputies, this is simply impossible to happen because such an act would be null and void", stressed the head of the executive.
Liberty Chiaka countered that "the parliamentary group of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which holds the parliamentary majority, depends on the president of the MPLA, who is also President of the Republic of Angola", highlighting that the main responsibility for the non-implementation of local authorities falls to the President of the Republic and the party with a parliamentary majority.
"If to date we have not approved the Government's proposal (...) it only depends on the lack of patriotic political will of the parliamentary majority, which is led by the MPLA, which is led by President João Lourenço", he reiterated.
Liberty Chiaka detailed that in the last four weeks there has been no progress: "We want to believe that, with the beginning of the parliamentary year today, next week we can boost it".
The deputies are still "a long way from the great consensus that is required, that Angolans expect", he admitted, but reaffirming UNITA's willingness to harmonize "the great differences" to obtain a single legislative project.
"The country needs to effectively implement local authorities," he proclaimed.
Regarding the law on political administrative division that creates 326 municipalities, in relation to the current 164 municipalities, he considered that it serves to delay the material achievement of local authorities, reaffirming that, "whether it is 164 municipalities or 326 that the Government wants now, the authorities will have to be carried out in the number determined by law".
