The draft "Report on the Implementation of UNESCO Recommendations for the Site of Mbanza Congo: Vestiges of the Former Capital of the Kingdom in Congo" was analyzed by the National Multisectoral Commission for the Safeguarding of World Cultural Heritage, guided by the Vice President of the Republic, Bornito de Sousa.
The document, to be sent to President João Lourenço, was prepared based on Annex 13 of the World Heritage Committee, which determines the presentation by Angola, as a State party, of the report on the implementation of the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee to the Center World Heritage, until 1 December this year.
"It is the first time that the Angolan State submits the report on the state of conservation of the property, a document divided into three parts and which reflects the state of play in Mbanza Congo", he said in the statement distributed to the press.
The first part presents Angola's responses to the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee, based essentially on the removal of the antennas, deactivation of the runway at the current airport, confirmation of the operation of the transversal management system, approval of the regulation of the urban plan or preparation of a tourism management strategy.
The second part exposes the problems related to the conservation of some assets that make up the historic site, namely “Kulumbimbi, Yala Nkuwu” and the water sources, while the third part addresses issues related to new buildings, works and other interventions on some assets , which can affect the site's exceptional universal value.
The document includes data on the restoration of three public buildings, namely two by the provincial government and the Cine Clube Comandante Bula, including four historic and archaeological buildings (Kulumbimbi, Museum of the Kings of Kongo, House of the King's Secretary and Fortim ), as well as control of ravines around the plateau and four water sources (Santa, Mandungu, Kilumbu and Ntetembwa).
The restoration of historic buildings should take place over a period of three to five years.
In 2017, the UNESCO World Heritage Commission declared the historic center of the city of Mbanza Congo, northern Angola, a World Heritage Site.
Another subject discussed during the meeting was the situation of the debris resulting from the South African bombings on Ondjiva, capital of the province of Cunene, in August 1981, having been recommended to classify, preserve and transform it instead of memory, such as other monuments in the world.
"Ondjiva's rubble is an important landmark of Angola's solidarity with the historic and transnational struggle against the racial and social segregation (apartheid) of the then South African regime," the note said.
