July 6, 2022 – Page 2 – Angola Newswire

July 6, 2022

DRC, Rwanda bet on dialogue to end political tension

Luanda – The presidents of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, and of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Félix Tshisekedi, on Wednesday agreed on the need to put an end to the differences between the two countries, with the aim of resolving the armed conflict in eastern DRC.

The two statesmen, who praised the efforts of President Lourenço to ease the relations between the two countries, stressed that the political crisis is contributing to the deterioration of the military situation in eastern DRC and the wellbeing of local communities.

President Kagame said the results achieved at the summit in Luanda were satisfactory, taking into account the bases of understanding reached under the mediation of President Lourenço.

The Rwandan Head of State said that the Luanda understanding will be the beginning of the normalization of the relations between the two countries and peoples.

For DRC president Félix Tshisekedi, the efforts of João Lourenço are contributing to ease the tension and the relations between the two neighbouring countries.

Félix Tshisekedi considered the tense climate between the two countries and peoples “useless”, as it is a destabilising factor and does not contribute to the development and wellbeing of the respective peoples and communities.

In his view, steps need to be taken to put an end to the crisis and re-establish trust between the political leaderships, as a way of looking to the future of the DRC and Rwanda in particular, and the region in general.

Relations between the two neighbouring countries have been complicated since the DRC took in, in the east, Rwandan Hutus accused of taking part in the genocide of Tutsis in 1994.

In March of this year (2022), the DRC accused the Rwandan government of sending special forces into Congolese territory.

The current escalation of tension is due to the resurgence of the M23 group (Movement 23 March), an armed militia that in 2012 opposed the Congolese government and generated a violent conflict that forced the displacement of thousands of people in the province of North Kivu.

At the end of the same year (2012), M23 took control of Goma, but retreated after the Congolese government agreed to open negotiations.

M23 was initially a militia formed by Tutsis from the DRC and reportedly supported by the governments of Rwanda and Uganda. On 23 March 2009, the militia signed a peace agreement with the Congolese government that culminated in its members being incorporated into the DRC army.

However, in 2012, the rebels rebelled against the DRC government, accused of not fulfilling its part of the agreement signed three years earlier. Thus, the M23 was born, in reference to the date on which the controversial pact was signed.

Tension between the militia and the army reached a peak in November 2012, when M23 took command of the Goma region (DRC).

Source: Angola Press News Agency

July 6, 2022

Minister wants sustainable management of environment

Luanda – The Minister of Culture, Tourism and Environment, Filipe Zau, on Wednesday in Luanda defended the promotion of environmental sustainability, to mitigate the impact of environmental degradation and improve the quality of life of the population.

Speaking on the second day of the International Conference on Renewable Energy in Angola 2022, he said that the use of natural resources in a responsible way guarantees development and social wellbeing and that tourism should be part of that sustainable management.

The minister said that promoting environmental sustainability should also be seen as a way of ensuring a better quality of life for future generations.

“We should also think about tourism and develop the exercise of citizenship in changing daily practices in favour of environmental sustainability,” he stressed.

Mr. Zau said that a project had been launched in Namibe province and on Mussulo island in Luanda, which aimed to desalinise water, as well as producing fuel from recycled plastics.

The international conference, which is on its final day, analysed issues such as, “Renewable energy projects off the grid and self-consumption,” “Renewable energy projects connected to the grid,” “Renewable energy projects off the grid and self-consumption,” “Green hydrogen for energy transition.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

July 6, 2022

Elections2022: Angolan Electoral Observatory requests admission as electoral observer

Luanda – The Angolan Electoral Observatory (OEA) requested Wednesday to the Constitutional Court (TC) the admission of its Electoral Observation Mission to the general elections on 24 August this year, in Angola.

The request was presented by the Head of the Electoral Observation Mission of the Angolan Electoral Observatory (OEA), Dom Gabriel Mbilingi during a hearing that was granted to him by the Constitutional Court president, Laurinda Cardoso, in the Palace of Justice in Luanda.

Gabriel Mbilingi, Archbishop of Lubango, said he discussed with Laurinda Cardoso issues linked to the electoral process and his institution´s intention to be included as an electoral observer.

The official stated as well that he received guarantees from the Constitutional Court that currently there is no electoral litigation in this judicial body after the end of the possible shortcomings in the candidacies submitted to run for the next general elections in Angola.

The prelate, who met behind closed doors with the Constitutional Court president, said he also received clarification that the electoral law does not state anything towards the activities carried out by political parties in the electoral pre-campaign.

The Archbishop of Lubango said he had been informed that the Angolan Election Law only provides the start of the election campaign 30 days before polling day and ends at 00:00 hours on the previous day before election day.

The Electoral Observation Mission of the Angolan Electoral Observatory (OEA) is made up of civic society institutions and churches and is devoted to promoting electoral civic education until the date for the inauguration of the elected President of the Republic and the Members of the National Assembly.

The Constitutional Court, as an electoral jurisdiction in charge to assess the regularity and validity of the candidacies for general elections, has just closed the phase of correcting possible shortcomings from the initial applications (candidacies).

However, if the TC confirms the absence of contestation and rejection of candidacies or complaints, it will send to the National Electoral Commission (CNE) the complete paperwork on all admitted lists.

One copy of the lists will be displayed at the door of the TC and another list will be sent to the candidates’ representatives.

So far, from the eight political groups, seven of them are political parties and one coalition, namely MPLA, CASA-CE, APN, UNITA, PRS, FNLA, PHA and P-NJANGO, presented candidacies for the general elections.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

July 6, 2022

DRC, Rwanda leaders met under mediation of President Lourenço

Luanda – The presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Félix Tshisekedi, and of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, are meeting Wednesday in Luanda, mediated by the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, in a meeting aimed at resolving the armed conflict in eastern DRC.

Relations between the two neighbouring countries have been complicated since the DRC took in, in the east, Rwandan Hutus accused of taking part in the genocide of Tutsis in 1994.

In March of this year (2022), the DRC accused the Rwandan government of sending Special Forces soldiers into Congolese territory.

At the end of the same year (2012), M23 took control of Goma, but retreated after the Congolese government agreed to open negotiations.

However, in 2012, the M23 group rebelled against the DRC government, accused of not fulfilling its part of the agreement signed three years earlier. Thus, the M23 was born, in reference to the date on which the controversial pact was signed.

Tension between the militia and the army reached a peak in November 2012, when M23 took command of the Goma region (DRC).

Source: Angola Press News Agency

July 6, 2022

Angola to simplify import and export documents

Luanda – The Government of Angola will transform the provisional Single Document (DU) and the definitive Single Document into one Single Document in order to facilitate the process of importing and exporting products, said Wednesday the director of the General Tax Administration (AGT), Nerethz Tati.

Speaking on the sidelines of the first plenary session of 2022 of the National Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF), as a member of the NCTF secretariat, he stressed that the replacement from the provisional Single Document to definitive Single Document will facilitate the importing and exporting chain, avoiding the repeated filing up of forms.

According to the official, the intention is framed in the Integrated Foreign Trade Platform, which is already in force, to ensure that the DU reflects exactly the same form as the definitive Single Document.

She explained that with this process, at the level of the chain, they will be able to have more assertive supervision and also regarding the facilitation, taxpayers will not have to fill out several forms in the chain.

According to the official source, the strategy was created by the technical team, which ensures that conditions are in place for the form to come into force starting July this year.

“It is expected that, as of July this year, the Institute for Administrative Modernisation can ensure that the platform has the conditions created for the form to come into force in August and September,” added the official.

On the occasion, the minister for Industry and Trade, Victor Fernandes, who chaired the first plenary session of 2022 of the CNFC, noted the importance of implementing the trade facilitation agreement, considering it an important milestone of a mandatory nature in the country.

The minister pointed out that the agreement requires the adoption of various international instruments and practices to facilitate the logistical chain of foreign trade.

He stressed that there was also a need to work closely with the bodies that make up the Capital Market Commission (CMC) in implementing measures that contribute to improving the time of clearance, transit of goods, simplification of charges and taxes on Foreign Trade.

The Single Document (DU) is the common form for import customs declaration.

Among other topics, the plenary analysed the status of the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO), the Coordinated Border Management (GCF), as well as the status of the Integrated Foreign Trade Platform (IFTP), in addition to an approach on the NCTF Training Plan.

The NCTF is made up of representatives from the ministries of Industry and Trade, Economy and Planning, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Interior, Transport, Health, Agriculture and Fisheries, as well as the Central Bank of Angola, business associations, the chamber of official brokers and other entities.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

July 6, 2022

Special Tax Regime for northern Cabinda goes to vote

Luanda – The National Assembly discusses Thursday in an extraordinary plenary meeting, the Draft Legislative Authorization Law on the Special Tax Regime for the northern Cabinda Province.

The legal tool aims to create tax incentives for investors in that region of the country with emphasis on the reduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT).

The lawmakers are also due to analyze the Draft Legislative Authorization concerning the termination of the Concession granted to the National Oil and Gas Concessionaire.

The legislative authorization for tax amendment to the concession of the Cabinda maritime oil zone block 0 is also part of the agenda of the National Assembly.

The National Assembly will also approve, in generality, the draft Law on Amendments of the Organic Law of the Courts of Appeal, whose document adjusts the salaries of the appellate judges.

Also on the agenda for the plenary session is the approval, in general terms, of the Proposed Civil Service Framework Law, which eliminates the time for entering the civil service and reduces the probation period from five to one year.

The parliamentarians will also approve, in generality, the General Labour Law Proposal, which aims to give more human dignity to citizens and respect for the guarantees and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Angola.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

July 6, 2022

Pre-School boosted with over 60,000 classrooms

Luanda – At least 67.600 classrooms for pre-school were built by the Government from 2018 to 2022, within the scope of the Pre-school Education Development Programme.

The construction of these infrastructures is part of the goals set by the Government, in the educational domain, in the period 2018/2022 with the aim of increasing the enrolment of 1.3 million children of school age, that is, pre-school and initiation children.

In order to increase the number of children between zero and four years of age in the education and teaching system, through the Pre-School Education Development Programme, the Government has also invested in the construction of more classrooms in community centres, nurseries and kindergartens.

In this scope, more than 26,700 classrooms were built in the country, in a strategy of public classrooms and public-private partnership classrooms.

In the same 2018/2022 period, 163 new schools were built, corresponding to 12,800 classrooms, built with the support of development partners.

Added to this is the creation of 739 libraries in primary schools, colleges, high schools and school complexes in the provinces of Bengo, Bié, Cabinda, Kwanza Sul, Huambo, Huíla, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Moxico, Namibe, Uíge and Zaire.

Secondary education

The government also focused its attention on the infrastructures for 1st and 2nd cycle secondary education, as well as for technical-vocational schools.

For both levels of secondary education, 18,730 new classrooms were projected, and others are nearing completion.

Increasing the number of technical-vocational high managers trained by the technical-vocational education system is another important and current challenge, with the number of graduates reaching 46,500 students.

Professionals in the areas of electricity, mechanics, civil construction, architecture and projects, electronics and telecommunications, cold systems, automation and mechatronics; in agriculture, poultry and livestock, and other food areas, are regularly absorbed by the large, structuring programmes and projects developed by the government throughout the country.

The construction of infrastructures for the literacy of adolescents, youths and adults is also one of the goals achieved during the last five years of governance, whose objective is to reduce the backwardness of this population.

Higher Education

New investments were made in this sector, with emphasis on the construction of seven new Higher Education Institution (HEI) infrastructures.

Approximately 51,000 students graduated, a number below the established goal, due to the fact that there were no graduates in 2020, due to the constraints imposed by Covid-19.

In this education system, 18,500 internal undergraduate scholarships were awarded, resulting in a 74% degree of execution when compared to the five-year target established in the 2018-2022 NDP.

In the scientific research chapter, 59 scientific research projects were funded, resulting in a degree of execution of 27.06% when compared to the five-year target set in the 2018-2022 PDN.

In addition, 28 scientific research laboratories were rehabilitated and equipped, seven of which in 2021.

Source: Angola Press News Agency