For the secretary of CEAST's Justice and Peace Commission, Celestino Epalanga, the President "was unhappy to say in his speech that hunger is relative", recalling that João Lourenço had already said in a Portuguese organ that "there was no hunger" in Angola .
"A few days later we managed to show the President that there was indeed hunger in Angola, we saw the amount of cattle, some victims of hunger and that mega campaign was carried out and the President had to travel to see the situation 'in loco'. there was no hunger in Angola at that time, why were funds mobilized, means to help those populations?", asked Celestino Epalanga.
The President, João Lourenço, in the role of president of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), on Saturday made several criticisms of his political opponents who from morning to night only sing the song of hunger, saying that "hunger is always relative".
"Perhaps for its own convenience, perhaps for political convenience, it would be convenient to repeat the word 'hunger' incessantly, but I would say that the great problem in Angola, if we want to be more precise, is the little purchasing power of our citizens resulting from the high unemployment rates" , he stated, which he attributed to a set of factors, but above all to covid-19.
"Therefore these citizens, who unfortunately find themselves in this situation of unemployment or semi-employed, do not have the purchasing power to guarantee the livelihood of their families, but, for the rest, agricultural, livestock and fishing production has risen every day to the eyes of whoever wants to see and is minimally honest", stressed Lourenço, adding that it is a responsibility that has been passed on to the private business sector.
João Lourenço, re-elected president of the MPLA, in power since 1975, was speaking at the 11 de Novembro stadium, in Luanda, during a mass event alluding to his party's VIII Ordinary Congress.
Drought and famine devastate thousands of Angolans in the south of the country who, in search of subsistence, are emigrating to neighboring countries and others rely on wild fruits to survive, as reported by different local authorities and members of civil society.
According to Celestino Epalanga, also a Catholic priest, who spoke this Monday to Rádio Ecclesia – Catholic Broadcaster of Angola, João Lourenço's "unfortunate" statement that hunger was relative "reveals great insensitivity, great cynicism and an authentic lack of respect for human lives".
"All life is important, thousands of Angolans are starving and there is no need to leave the country's capital, we who walk in these alleys and ghettos, we who are in the community know how much people have to fight for survival," he said. the priest.
The secretary of the CEAST Justice and Peace Commission affirms that the cry of people because of hunger "is felt every holy day" and "certainly the President of the Republic does not have this opportunity to hear the cry of the poor, of the children".
"How many children suffer from malnutrition and many are acute, people die every day in Gambos due to hunger, and in fact people are hungry, we go to Benguela and we see people eating locusts, wild berries, and this is not hunger?" .
"Mr. President, have more respect for human life, the lives of these brothers of ours are as sacred as the life of Mr. President", said Celestino Epalanga.
Last October, the Catholic bishops of CEAST defended the declaration of a state of emergency in southern Angola, due to drought and hunger caused by the long drought, asking the authorities for "humility" and to "not confuse hunger with the political issue" .
A multi-sectorial commission to assist populations affected by drought and hunger in southern Angola was created by the President, while construction of local infrastructures to bring water to the populations is also taking place.
