Minister of Transport rejects comment on purchase of buildings subject to complaint

"We do not have to comment on what the press or any press refers in relation to some acts of the President of the Republic, therefore, we have nothing to comment on this matter", said Ricardo d'Abreu.

The minister was speaking to the press on the sidelines of a ceremony, this Wednesday, in Soyo, in Zaire province, regarding the launch of the international tender for the concession, construction, exploration and commercial management of the Soyo and Luvo Logistics Platforms.

At issue is the acquisition of two buildings in Luanda, worth US$114 million, authorized by presidential order 159/21, to install public services of the Ministry of Transport and the Regulatory Agency for Cargo and Logistics Certification.

Angolan activist and journalist Rafael Marques, who believes that a deal potentially harmful to the State is at stake, asked the Attorney General's Office to investigate the acquisition involving the purchase of the two properties, one of which allegedly belongs to a friend of Ricardo d'Abreu.

Asked if he received any notification from the court to respond on the matter, the government official said that the court knows how to do its job.

"The national justice bodies know what they have to do and work within the norms in force in our country", he said.

In the complaint addressed to the PGR, which Lusa had access to, the activist, who runs the complaint portal Maka Angola, understands that a business potentially harmful to the State is at stake.

Among the highlights are the inadequacy of one of the buildings for the intended function, the "overblown and excessive value of buying and selling" and the friendship and godlike relationship between the minister and the seller, Rui Óscar "Ruca" Ferreira Saints Van-Dunem.