"This largely depends on the perspective of whoever says it. The Government has one perspective, some civil society has another perspective, we need to meet and have a discourse in which we all understand the other's point of view, I think that's the debate", Virgílio Tchova told Lusa this Tuesday.
The deputy from the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) assured that hunger and poverty are a concern of the Government, reflected in the ongoing programs to "reduce the issue of hunger and poverty that the country has".
"This is the State's responsibility, civil society can even contribute ideas, but the responsibility for solving the issue of hunger and poverty in our communities is the State's responsibility," he said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the "National Conference on Natural Resources: Hunger and Wealth", the MPLA politician considered hunger to be a "perennial and ongoing" issue, believing that "hunger and poverty will never end".
Tchova, who alluded to biblical verses, maintained: "Jesus once said that among you there will be poor people, so I think that the most important thing is to improve people's living conditions over time."
The vice-president of the MPLA parliamentary group praised the initiative of "Tchota Angola" – a national platform of civil society organizations on the approach to the management and exploitation of natural resources, considering that this solidifies the democratic state and the rule of law.
He also assured that the problem of combating hunger and poverty has arisen since the colonial period, noting, however, that hunger, sometimes, does not simply translate into a lack of food.
"This is not new, the fight against hunger and poverty has been going on since colonial times and sometimes hunger is not a lack of food, it is also education, it is also health, basic sanitation, therefore, hunger and poverty are phenomena which are associated with several exogenous factors in people's lives (...) and these are the issues that the State has been dealing with", he concluded.
The "Tchota Angola" conference, which brings together members of civil society from various provinces of the country in Luanda, runs until Thursday, in the auditorium of the Parish of Nossa Senhora de Fátima.
