Minister of State delivers vehicles to assist flood victims

Luanda: Minister of State and Head of the Military Office of the President of the Republic, Joo Ernesto dos Santos "Liberdade", on Thursday handed over four vehicles to the Benguela Provincial Government to strengthen social assistance for families affected by the Cavaco River floods. According to Angola Press News Agency, The Minister of State, who also coordinates the National Civil Protection Commission (CNPC), presented the vehicle keys to Benguela Governor Manuel Nunes Júnior at the end of a visit to assess the conditions provided for victims of the floods that occurred on 12 April this year. The vehicles are intended for the coordinator of the Novo Campismo Reception Centre, where families displaced by the floods are being temporarily accommodated, and for the Medical Centre, with the aim of improving assistance to residents at the site. Vehicles were also allocated to the Executive Secretariat of the Benguela Provincial Civil Protection and Fire Service Commission, as well as to the supervision of t he Flood Victims Assistance Programme under the responsibility of the Provincial Delegation for Former Combatants and Veterans of the Homeland. Reacting to the initiative, Benguela Governor Manuel Nunes Júnior thanked the Central Government, noting that the support would strengthen efforts to meet the needs of affected families who remain at the Novo Campismo site. According to the governor, conditions at the only reception centre still in operation have continued to improve. He said that of the approximately 16,000 families initially accommodated at the two reception centres, only around 1,000 remain, as the majority have already been reintegrated. For their part, the recipients of the vehicles expressed satisfaction and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening assistance to citizens sheltered at the reception centre. Located in the fishing district of Kawango, on the outskirts of Benguela city, the Novo Campismo Reception Centre includes a police post, administrative area and medical centre equippe d with emergency and outpatient facilities, in addition to a Cholera Treatment Centre (CTC). Several tents have already been erected near Kawango beach, where families are seeking to rebuild their lives while awaiting the completion of construction of the first 225 social housing units in the Graça district, where they will later be resettled. The city of Benguela hosted on Thursday the second meeting of the National Civil Protection Commission, which reviewed the status of assistance provided to victims of the Cavaco River floods and measures to respond to potential incidents during the current rainy season.