Luanda: President Joo Louren§o led a meeting with the Cuando Provincial government on Tuesday, as part of his visit to this newly created province, with the aim of learning about the socioeconomic situation and assessing development priorities.
According to Angola Press News Agency, the meeting was attended by members of the central government, who introduced plans and perspectives in response to the memorandum submitted by the provincial governor, Lucio do Amaral. During the presentation of the province's overall framework, the governor highlighted the main challenges and goals in the areas of education, health, agriculture, energy, transport, mineral resources, water supply, and local administration.
In the field of education, Lºcio do Amaral reported that the province currently has 933 teachers and 353 classrooms, with the priority being to expand the school network to serve approximately 10,893 children who are not currently enrolled in the education system.
The governor highlighted the need to build a field hospital as an urgent measure to fill gaps in medical services and avoid the displacement of critically ill patients to remote locations.
The provincial official noted that, with the exception of the municipalities of Cuito Cuanavale and Dirico, the remaining municipalities do not yet offer the minimum conditions to attract private investment. He highlighted the lack of infrastructure, particularly access roads and a regular power supply, as obstacles to the growth of commerce and manufacturing.
The province of Cuando was officially established on Sept 5, 2024, resulting from the political and administrative division of the former province of Cuando-Cubango. It borders the provinces of Cubango (to the west) and Moxico (to the north), as well as Zambia (to the east) and the Namibian regions of Zambezi and Kavango, to the southeast and south, respectively. It is traversed by the Cubango, Cuito, and Cuando rivers and is part of the Cubango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, the largest of its kind in terms of land area in the world.
The north of the territory belongs to the dry miombo woodlands ecoregion, while the south is located in the Zambezian Baikiaea woodlands ecoregion. With the presidential visit, a new cycle of government attention is anticipated for that province, with a focus on improving basic living conditions and consolidating local government structures.
