Angola News Wire

India’s health ministry reported 259,591 new COVID-19 cases Friday in the previous 24 hours. The South Asian nation also reported more than 4,000 deaths.

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center says India has 26 million of the world’s 165.5 million cases. Only the United States has more cases, with 33 million.

Argentina starts a strict lockdown, beginning Saturday and ending on May 31.

“We are seeing the highest numbers of cases and deaths. We must take this critical situation seriously and not naturalize so much tragedy,” President Alberto Fernández said Thursday in a televised speech. Johns Hopkins reports that Argentina has 3.4 million COVID cases.

The top U.S. infectious disease expert told The Washington Post that he thinks the United States can avoid another surge of COVID cases. Dr. Anthony Fauci said that if the country reaches President Joe Biden’s goal of having 70% of adults vaccinated with at least one dose of a vaccine by July 4 that he does not foresee a “risk of a surge provided we continue to get people vaccinated at the rate we have now.”

Meanwhile, World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this week in the keynote address at the Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting: “The shocking global disparity in access to vaccines remains one of the biggest risks to ending the pandemic.”

“As President Ramaphosa [of South Africa] himself has said, we are now facing vaccine apartheid. High-income countries account for 15% of the world’s population, but have 45% of the world’s vaccines,” said Tedros.

“Low- and lower-middle countries account for almost half of the world’s population, but have received just 17% of the world’s vaccines,” the WHO chief said. “Even now, some high-income countries are moving to vaccinate children and adolescents, while health workers, older people and other at-risk groups around the world remain unvaccinated.”

Tedros said WHO is “working hard to address this disparity.”

Source: Voice Of America

Lubango – The catching of fish, both at sea and in the country’s rivers fell from 400,000 tonnes in 2019 to 60,000 the following year, due to Covid-19.

The information was provided today in Huila province by the Secretary of State for Fisheries, Esperança da Costa, who also noted that 35 percent of the 2020 result came from artisanal marine fishing.

Over the last two years 18,000 new fishing boats were licensed and were used by cooperatives, which generated 50,000 jobs.

Esperança da Costa, who was on a three-day trip to Huíla to assess the continental fishing sector, also noted that 80 percent of workers in the artisanal fishing sector were women, mainly linked to retail and processing.

She said that the fisheries management system now focused on combating illegal fishing, via an integrated system of patrols along the coast.

In relation to beekeeping, he admitted that there is a crisis, mainly due to the lack of ration to feed the fish, as well as several indispensable tools such as canoes and nets, aggravated by the drought and Covid-19.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – The director-general of the National Laboratory for Quality Control (Lancoq), José Alberto Sofia, announced Wednesday that the government is creating norms to improve the testing conditions in the quality control laboratories of the food and beverage production process.

Speaking to ANGOP, the official explained that this step is intended to reduce dangers among consumers, stressing that currently most of the industries of these two segments work without effective quality control in the country.

From 2012 to 2017, Bromangol SA was the only company responsible for the Public Works Concession for Construction and Operation of Analysis Laboratories, an activity previously carried out by the Angolan Institute for Standardisation and Quality (IANORQ).

The contract with Bromangol SA was terminated due to the need to redefine the paradigm in the exercise of the activity of laboratorial analysis of products for human consumption, as well as the National Network of Quality Control.

According to José Alberto Sofia, for several years there have been weaknesses in the inspection process of quality control laboratories in Angola.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC) issued from January to December 2020 twenty guarantees worth 21.394 billion kwanzas for financing the banking sector, Angop learnt Friday.

The FGC guarantee was tasked with securing the availability of commercial bank credit amounted to 29.213 billion kwanzas for businessmen.

Of the 20 guarantees issued, four processes are part of the Credit Support Project (PAC) and another 16 under Notice 10/20 of 3 April of the National Bank of Angola (BNA).

The data provided by FGC show that just to ensure the four processes of PAC, the FGC had to guarantee more than 4.323 billion kwanzas, for a financing of AKz 6.113 million.

For the real economy financing projects, under the scope of Notice 10/20, the guarantee was over 17.071 billion kwanzas, for a financing of 23.099 billion kwanzas, from 16 approved processes.

Since the beginning of its activity in 2012, until 31 March 2020, the FGC has issued 476 guarantees, totaling 110.935 billion kwanzas, for financing in the order of 167.212 billion kwanzas.

Of these, two guarantees belong to the Credit Support Project (PAC), for a total of 2.508 million kwanzas, for financing in the order of AKz 3.694 million.

The request for the issuance of public guarantees is made in two ways, the first by applying for a credit at the national level, at the bank branch closest to the promoter, and the second by submitting the cases to the FGC headquarters, in Luanda.

Currently the FGC works to ensure that initiatives to promote national production are achieved through the issuance of public guarantees, which are part of Notice nº 10/20 of the BNA, of 3 April, on the granting of credit to real sector of the economy and on the other hand, the Credit Support Project (PAC).

The Deposit Guarantee Fund (FGD) guarantees the reimbursement of deposits made with its participating credit institutions in the event of a situation of unavailability of deposits in some of these institutions.

Created in 2012 by Presidential Decree, the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC Angola) facilitates access to credit for companies and entrepreneurs who were unable to have access to the financial system due to lack of guarantees.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – The Secretariat of the Political Bureau (BP) of the MPLA encouraged on Friday the President of the Republic João Lourenço to continue his policies on attracting investments for the country, with a view to reviving the national economy.

The encouragement is expressed in the final communiqué of the 9th Ordinary Meeting of the BP Secretariat, which took place under the guidance of MPLA vice president, Luísa Damião.

The statement, to which ANGOP had access, highlights the results of the participation of President João Lourenço, at the Summit on the Economy of Africa, held in Paris, France, last Tuesday (18).

The summit in the French capital defined a financial support for African countries worth USD 33 billion.

At the session of the BP Secretariat the participants were informed about the hearing regarding the process of occasional amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Angola, and recommended the continuation of the work in the headquarters of the National Assembly.

The meeting also analysed aspects related to the regional meetings of the Executive Secretariats of the Intermediate Bodies of the MPLA, the Plan for holding inter-provincial meetings in the North, Center-Northwest and South regions of the country.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – Angolan health authorities reported last Friday 248 infections, 5 deaths and 30 recoveries, in the last 24 hours.

The new cases were detected in the provinces of Luanda with 225,

Huíla 6, Huambo 6, Cunene 3, Bié 3.

While, the provinces of Cabinda, Cuanza Sul, Malanje and Uíge reported one each.

The Secretary of State for Public Health, Franco Mufinda, who released the statistics, said that the new cases involve 134 men and 114 women, whose ages vary between 28 and 81 years old.

The official said that the deaths were recorded in the province of Luanda, all Angolan citizens.

The recovered patients are residents in the provinces of

Huambo with 15, followed by Luanda 7, Benguela 6 and Huíla 2.

The country has currently 31,909 positive cases, 709 deaths, 26,513 recoveries and 4,687 active patients.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – Angola’s Diamond Company (Endiama) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Angola–United Arab Emirates signed Friday a cooperation agreement.

The deal provides for promotion of the Angolan diamond in the Asian country, through AIM platform.

Signed the agreement Endiama CEO José Manuel Ganga Júnior and CCIA-UAE President Braulio Mohamed Martins.

Among other objectives, the agreement aims at attracting Endiama’s investments through AIM Arab platform, an instrument that divulge the contacts and economic relationship among the investors.

Under the cooperation, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Angola-UAE will provide the worthy information and the right contacts to start and strengthen prosperous partnerships, whether import and export operations, investments or joint ventures (business agreements).

So far, the countries which attended the platform have seen a 40 percent economic growth.

They include China, Germany, Russia, US.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – Judge Advisor Agostinho Santos was suspended from Supreme Court for six months by Permanent Commission of the Superior Council for Judiciary (CSMJ).

In a press release, CSMJ alleges “repeated conduct” that call into question “the good name” of the courts.

CSMJ states that the decision followed a complaint by judges of the Constitutional Court, underlining that the repeated conduct of Judge Agostinho Santos calls into question the good name of the courts, as sovereign bodies (… ) and “to the targeted advisory judges, damaging (…) the essential dignity to the exercise of the functions”.

The source adds that the resolution, in force since the 19th this month, has as consequences “the total loss of the corresponding remuneration, seniority in the career.

Agostinho Santos is also banned from entering the Supreme Court premises”.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – Credit granted to the real economy reached 365.02 billion kwanzas in October 2020 – April 2021 period, as part of Notice 10/20 of the Central Bank of Angola (BNA).

The amount is equivalent to USD 565.87 million.

The real economy covers industrial, agricultural, fisheries production, the employment and unemployment rate, the inflation, GDP and much more.

According to data released by BNA, the amounts corresponds to a total of 224 approved credits, of which 170 are effective disbursements.

Of the total value, 262,60 billion kwanzas were disbursed until April of the current year by 20 commercial banks representing an increase of 14.64 billion of kwanzas (5.90%) to March 2021.

In April this year, there were a total of 10 new credits granted to the real economy sector from 03 April, making a total of 224 credits.

In general terms, the financial amount approved by the bank sector until April 2021 corresponds to 205.03% of the minimum set in BNA rule on the credit to the real economy (Notice nº 10/2020).

Whereas, the effective disbursed corresponds to 147.50% of the minimum value granted until April 2021.

The number of banks that fulfilled the minimum limit of 2.50% of its Net Assets remained unchanged in March 2021.

They are ATL, BCGA, BCH, BFA, SBA, BNI, BOCLB, BPG, BVB, FNB, KEVE, BIR, YETU, VTB e BMF.

However, A total of 224 projects have been approved by commercial banks, corresponding to 48.70% of the minimum rule.

Source: Angola Press News Agency