Day: September 24, 2024

Angola on Monday in New York city of the United States of America (USA) presented business opportunities in the fields of oil, energy, pharmaceutical industry, among others to the North American businesspeople.

The potentialities of the country were presented by the Head of State, João Lourenço, during a meeting with senior North American executives, as part of an external round table on business opportunities in Angola.

The meeting takes place as part of the High-Level Debate meeting of the 79th United Nations General Elections, which runs from today until the 30th.

It was attended by businesspeople who know the Angolan market, such as the leaders of AFRICELL mobile company and SUN ÁFRICA Clean Energy Solutions companies, as well as other companies who want to invest in Angola.

On the occasion, North American businesspeople heard from President Lourenço about investment opportunities in Angola in the most varied areas.

The Head of State took a while to explain, the areas open to all types of initiative
s from those who want to invest, ranging from the construction of oil refineries to the pharmaceutical industry, from railways to energy transport, among others in the economy sector.

In accordance with the agenda for the first day in New York, João Lourenço also participated in a meeting with counterparts from the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP).

The meeting held in the initiative of the São Tome and Principe, a country that presides over the CPLP on a rotating basis, served to change points of view on different issues between the leaders of the community, based on the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The intense program of this first activity of the President João Lourenço in New York began with the speech given at the Summit on the Future, where he defended more attention to poor people.

“We cannot achieve our common ambitions for the future and face this great challenge without placing the poorest and most vulnerable people at the center of our actions and ensurin
g, in this way, that no human being or country is left behind”, he asserted.

Then, the statesman, as acting President of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, (OACPS), led the meeting of this community.

At this event, he stated that the OACPS is faced with pressing financial and institutional obstacles.

‘These challenges, if not resolved, risk undermining our ability to effectively serve the interests of our people and defend the expectations that united our 79 Member States”, added the Angolan Head of State, during a meeting of this community .

This Tuesday, the President of the Republic will speak at the 79th United Nations Assembly.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

President João Lourenço speaks on Tuesday at the High-level debate of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, in New York, USA.

The meeting kicks off with a statement by the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, on the international issues and the activities carried out by the organization during the previous session (from September 2023 to date).

This is followed by the speech of the president of the 79th General Assembly, Philemon Yang, from Cameroon, elected in June 2024, continuing with interventions by the Presidents of Brazil and the United States of America (USA), respectively, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Joe Biden, and continues with statements based on the order in which speakers are registered.

The general debate of the United Nations General Assembly is the opportunity for world leaders to present solutions to interconnected global challenges.

The theme chosen for the current session of the General Assembly calls for the unity and solidarity of UN Member States to work together in the se
arch for pragmatic solutions, with a view to responding to the numerous and complex challenges and overcoming the hard international political situation.

The purpose is to promote peace, conflict prevention, harmony, sustainable development, shared prosperity and human dignity, without exclusion.

The 79th session of the UN General Assembly, running until the 30th, was officially opened on the 10th of this month, being guided by the president of the body, who is assisted by 21 vice-presidents, also elected last June, including Angola.

In addition to the Summit on the Future, held on Sunday and Monday, high-level meetings are planned on “How to face the existential threats posed by rising sea levels”, on the 25th, “To commemorate and promote the international day for the total elimination of nuclear weapons, also known as nuc weapons elimination day, held on sept 26 and “On antimicrobial resistance”, on the same day.

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is the organization’s main political decision-making body, b
eing a forum for multilateral discussion of the entire spectrum of international issues covered by the United Nations Charter. The 193 Member States have equal votes.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Current monthly beef production in Huíla is 50,906 kilograms, corresponding to the slaughter of 339 head of cattle in 18 precarious slaughterhouses and one industrial one.

In addition to cattle, an average of 266 pigs (13,343 kg), 113 goats (1,366 kg), 1.6 sheep (32 kg) and 52 poultry (93.7 kg) are currently slaughtered every month.

The information was given to ANGOP on Tuesday by the head of department of the Huíla Veterinary Services Institute, José Chicomo, who said that meat production is ‘good’, although there are still clandestine slaughters.

He said that sheep meat is still low in production, for cultural reasons, because not all regions consume it, but it is suitable for human consumption, depending on how it is prepared.

He emphasised that the meat produced is satisfactory, due to the animals that leave other provinces alive, especially Luanda and Zaire, especially cattle, which in the first half of this year alone transited 6,128 animals.

He added that 3,733 goats, 497 pigs, 421 poultry animal
s and 168 sheep were transported for slaughter during the first six months of this year.

According to the source, most of the slaughterhouses are in Lubango, with five slaughterhouses and an industrial slaughterhouse, while in the other 13 municipalities there is a slaughterhouse in each, with the exception of Cuvango, which also has an industrial slaughterhouse owned by a private company.

‘The amount of meat would be huge if we had control of how many animals were slaughtered, the data could double. This data from our register is what we control. Our technicians in the municipality inspect the animals before and after they are killed,’ he said.

He added that the more than 50 communes in the province, with the exception of the municipal centres, do not have technicians to inspect the rest, due to insufficient staff, a situation that compromises the supervision of the process.

‘We have a lot of clandestine slaughter and the dangers are various: there are many diseases or zoonoses that are transmitted from
animals to people, in pigs there is tapeworm, a serious public health problem, there is anthrax which, if people eat the meat of contaminated animals, harms human health, among others,’ he explained.

He warned that consumers should look more for places that sell inspected products in order to preserve their health, because these are acute illnesses that don’t affect at the moment, but after months, without the person realising it’s the meat, the symptoms are common, mistaken for a headache, high fevers and so on.

José Chicomo explained that clandestine slaughter also happens due to the lack of proper infrastructure for slaughter, as well as a conservation system with cold rooms, which are necessary in the process, because none of the existing slaughterhouses have these conditions, they slaughter for immediate consumption.

He said that they also monitor 12 delicatessens, eight of which are in Lubango, two in Chibia and two in Matala, without monitoring those that are not registered because a large part of t
his production takes place in backyards.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

TAAG and Habana Forwarding recently signed a memorandum of understanding for the transport of cargo and mail on the Luanda/Lisbon/Luanda and Luanda/Havana/Luanda routes.

Initialed by the commercial director of the Angolan airline, Miguel Carneiro, and the chairman of the Board of Directors of Habana Forwarding, Cenén Portuindo Hernández, the agreement lasts for one year and is renewable, according to a press release to which ANGOP had access.

TAAG will become a preferred operator for Habana Forwarding, in order to guarantee the transport of diverse cargo to intercontinental destinations on the African, American and European continents.

The document states that the partnership aims to strengthen TAAG’s position as a facilitator of exchange and business between economic agents involved in the import/export of goods, while also reinforcing the potential of the Luanda hub as a trading post.

The agreement is part of the Angolan company’s strategic vision.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Eleven violations of the border perimeter, which separates the province of Zaire from the Central Congo (DRC) region, were recorded in the last 24 hours by the Border Guard Police.

A note from the corporation distributed on Tuesday to ANGOP, indicates that compared to the previous day, there was an increase of two cases of border violation, which resulted in the arrest of 31 citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The document also says that the infractions occurred at the border posts of Luvo, Ntoyo, Luango, Kanga, Buela and Marco-12.

It stresses that after the operational interrogation, 23 illegal immigrants were referred to the directorate of the Migration and Foreigners Service (SME) in the region and eight were repatriated.

Also in the last 24 hours, the Border Guard Police, in the municipality of Mbanza Kongo, seized 1,811 liters of fuel that was to be smuggled in neighboring DRC.

Camouflaged inside bags of kikuanga to try to deceive the police forces deployed on the access road to the
border commune of Luvo, the product was being transported by two three-wheeled motorcycles.

‘These are the new modus operandis that smugglers are using to get fuel across the border. The police remain attentive to the new methods of these citizens’, underlines the note.

In recent days, smugglers have chosen to camouflage fuel canisters in the middle of other goods bound for the DRC, to escape the control of police forces.

The commune of Luvo is 60 km north of the city of Mbanza Kongo, capital of Zaire province.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

One million 186 thousand 309 identity cards were issued by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in the first half of this year, across the country and at Angolan diplomatic and consular missions abroad.

The information was shared Tuesday in Luanda, during the meeting of the Commission for Social Policy of the Council of Ministers, which examined, among others, the balance reports of the activities carried out in the first half of this year, by the ministries of Justice and Human Rights, Public Works, Urbanism and Housing and Social Action, Family and Promotion of Women.

The 5th ordinary meeting of the commission was guided by the Minister of State for the Social Area, Maria do Rosário Bragança.

According to the report, one million 176,95 ID cards were issued at the national level, and another 10,214 in abroad.

Of the total number of identity cards issued, 754,139 were renewals, 404,20 were issued for the first time and 28,150 were duplicates.

The report states that during the period in question, 234
,346 birth registrations were also issued in the national territory and 2,519 in the diaspora.

In addition, 15 district human rights committees and 18,509 new companies were created.

Regarding the Ministry of Public Works, Urbanism and Housing, in the first half of 2024, actions were carried out, among others, in the areas of construction, rehabilitation or maintenance of road infrastructures, which will improve the mobility of populations between agricultural production areas and marketing sites and consumption centers.

The sector also developed emergency actions to combat the progression of ravines, reduce risk areas, improve the environmental environment in the intervened areas, allowing the safeguarding of human lives and important infrastructures.

The ministry continued with the construction of social houses for the rehousing of populations living in risk areas and displaced from specific urban requalification projects, with 376 social houses in the province of Cuanza-Sul, 1,500 in Cabiri, 1,500 in N
golome (Icolo and Bengo) and another 2,920 in Cabinda.

In the field of Social Action, Family and Promotion of Women, 510,82 families were registered under the Programme for the Strengthening of the Social Protection System – Kwenda – and one million 595,496 households eligible for Social Monetary Transfers were registered.

Thus, an accumulated amount of one million 58 thousand 167 households were paid

Source: Angola Press News Agency

The photovoltaic plant in the municipality of Lucapa, Lunda Norte province, under construction since 2022, with a capacity to produce 7.19 megawatts of electricity, will start operating in October this year.

The energy project will ensure the supply of electricity, via the solar system, to more than 24,000 families in the district that is more than 100 kilometers from the city of Dundo.

The information was provided on Tuesday by the municipal administrator of Lucapa, Agostinho Paiva, stressing that the definitive load tests are currently underway for the start of operation of the project with 12,900 solar panels.

He said that the project started in 2022 is practically completed and also covers the expansion of the distribution network, 1,700 household connections and public lighting.

He informed that the installation of the ten Transformer Poles (PT) foreseen in the project, 22 kilometers of the low voltage line, 600 poles, with the respective connections, are also completed, with only the placement of l
uminaires in some missing.

The plant installed in an area of 13.52 hectares, is valued at 19,706,428 euros, 80 percent of which is financed by Sweden and 20% by South Africa.

Currently, electricity in the municipality of Lucapa is produced through generator sets, from private individuals, which charge 40 to 60 thousand kwanzas per month, the consumption of the product.

Angola is being a pioneer in the field of renewable energy installation, with seven projects in the provinces of Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Moxico, Benguela, Bié and Huambo.

The authorities expect solar energy to benefit about 1.2 million families across the country, with a view to promoting access to clean and cheap electricity.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

The principal of Baringo high school in Eldama Ravine has assured that no student was injured during the early morning inferno that gutted one of the dormitories on Monday morning.

According to the school principal Mr. Titus Ngetich, all students were rescued as most of them were already in class for their morning preps when the fire occurred 5:30am.

‘We have unfortunately lost the building and most of the students’ belongings,’ added Mr. Ngetich.

Eldama Ravine MP Musa Sirma also confirmed that all students were safe and added that his office will support the school in all measures they take to restore normalcy.

County Director of Education Mr. Joseph Mwangi said the Ministry will also carry out investigations to ascertain the cause of fire which was not immediately known.

The Mama Ngina dormitory, which is one of the oldest, is said to have housed 75 students and as such the incident may not pose a great challenge to accommodating the affected students.

Others who visited the school are the local administration led by Eldama Ravine Assistant County Commissioner Mr. David Cheruiyot and a team from the Kenya Red Cross Society.

All the stakeholders pledged to support the school as students prepare for their national examinations in October.

Source: Kenya News Agency