Electoral laws promulgated

On 16 June, President José Eduardo dos Santos promulgated almost all the laws included in the electoral package submitted to him by the National Assembly. They were the laws on political parties, voter registration, election observers, nationality and the election code of conduct.

A communiqué issued by the office of the President said that the election law had not been promulgated because there were some doubts about whether some of its provisions were constitutional. The President, it said, had therefore referred the law to the Supreme Court to assess whether it complied with the constitution.

Virgílio de Fontes Pereira, coordinator of the inter-ministerial commission for the electoral process (Cipe) and Minister of Territorial Administration, had a meeting in Luanda on 16 June with the governors of Angola’s eighteen provinces. He spoke of the electoral legislative package, the establishment of local electoral bodies, the characteristics required of candidates for membership of the National Electoral Commission, voter registration programmes, civic education and other related issues.

Virgílio de Fontes Pereira had said earlier that the government never felt any need to change the planned election timetable.  Speaking to the press on 2 June, he said: ‘The very great difficulties in the country do not put in question the holding of elections in 2006, although the state of facilities is much worse than in 1992.’

Speaking of what the government had done and still had to do in respect of elections, he described the activities required to ensure ‘credible, competitive, transparent and free elections’.

As soon as the electoral legislative package was published and the National Electoral Commission, CNE, established, he said, voter registration would become the most important task. It was expected to take three months and to be completed by the end of the year.

He said a national registration programme had already been drafted.   Once it was approved by the executive, it was subject to approval by the CNE. The CNE would have to approve the election programme and supervise the whole process.

The Minister said the role of the press was crucial in making people aware of the need to vote. Illustrating this need, he spoke of what had happened in Chipindo, Huíla Province, during a meeting between the inter-ministerial commission and traditional chiefs, when some chiefs had said there should be no elections in Angola, because elections led to war. The press, he said, should also denounce the use of forged documents by foreigners wishing to register.

In order to keep people informed, he said, there would be regular meetings with the press, as well as meetings with political parties, churches and representatives of civil society, and there were plans to establish a website that could be consulted for all kind of information on the elections.

Virgílio de Fontes Pereira said it was planned to do voter registration during the dry season, which lasted until December in some parts of the country.  The initial estimate was that US$85 million would be spent on voter registration, but there was not as yet a full budget, because many of the activities had to be carried out by the CNE, which had not yet been constituted.

He went on to say that the government planned to recruit thousands of people, mainly students and former soldiers, to carry out voter registration. Among the difficulties in preparing for elections, he said, was that there were more than 300,000 people still to be resettled, more than 1,000 minefields and about 500 communes with no communications systems.

Dos Santos speaks of strategy to combat poverty

President José Eduardo dos Santos said in Benguela on 10 June that the government had drawn up a strategy to combat the challenges of poverty and unemployment.

‘These are enormous challenges, because there are many families that live badly in both urban and rural areas, and unemployment and poverty are closely related,’ he said, adding that great efforts were being made to improve the living conditions of the people.  He was speaking at a meeting with central and provincial government officials during a working visit to the coastal province.

The President said further incentives would be given to the private business sector to enable it to advance more rapidly.  Though, he said, it should be acknowledged that the government had made a great effort in respect of amending economic legislation. 

He went on to say that there were ‘large-scale projects’ for Benguela.  They included the rehabilitation of the Benguela Railway, CFB, the port of Lobito and the network of highways between the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Huíla, Bié and Kuando Kubango.

With regard to the CFB, he said ‘the government plans to rehabilitate it along its entire length over the next three years, and is mustering all the resources and energy needed to achieve that goal.’

‘The work has already started and is going well.  We need to speed it up, because it is fundamental to economic activity throughout this region, linking many provinces, and it will improve the life of the people as a whole,’ he said.

Opening a new bridge over the Cavaco River to road transport, the President said that some of the rivers in the province needed de-silting, to prevent the flooding in the rainy season that caused such damage and suffering to families.

The new bridge, built at a cost of US$15.55 million, is parallel to the old one destroyed during the 2002 floods.

Dos Santos announced that the rehabilitation and expansion of the water treatment and distribution systems in the cities of Benguela, Lobito, Baía Farta and Catumbela, a US$80 million project, was already in progress.

He also visited the construction site of the water station on the outskirts of Catumbela.

President Gbagbo of Côte d’Ivoire visits Angola

President José Eduardo dos Santos has reaffirmed that general elections will be held in Angola next year and stressed the importance of elections to consolidating national reconciliation and democracy.

Speaking at an official lunch, on 6 June, given for President Laurent Gbagbo of Côte d’Ivoire, he said that peace had made it possible for Angolans to devote themselves fully to reconstruction, rebuilding destroyed facilities, relaunching production and commercial activity and planning the country’s medium- and long-term development on a realistic basis.

‘Aware of the benefits of ending war,’ dos Santos continued, ‘I therefore hail the political and military progress achieved in Côte d’Ivoire with a view to peace and stability.’

He said he hoped the ‘somewhat distant climate’ that, for reasons alien to the will of their two countries, had existed for many years, would be overcome and that fresh momentum would be given to strengthening relations of friendship and cooperation between their two peoples.

President Gbagbo, in his speech, spoke of the role played by Angola in the UN and the African Union, especially when it was a member of the Security Council.

‘Angola is one of the African countries that did its utmost internationally, using its influence to help us. The time has come to say many thanks to Angola.  We can never forget what Angola did for our country.’ Referring to the war in his country, President Gbagbo said he hoped the agreement signed in South Africa would be complied with and lead to elections later in the year.  He believed that elections would put an end to the war.

During a visit to Sonils, the Ivorian President said he was impressed by the fact that Angola had gone through a long period of war while still maintaining oil production levels. ‘We want to learn from Angola how to manage our oil production tomorrow,’ he said.

He said teams from the two countries would soon be starting official talks, and an agreement would enable Côte d’Ivoire to ‘take advantage of Angola’s experience and avoid certain mistakes’.

Sonils, Sonangol Integrated Logistic Service, is a group of 72 Angolan and foreign companies that provide services for the oil industry.

During his two-day stay in Angola, President Gbagbo also had meetings with Desidério da Costa, the Oil Minister, Roberto de Almeida, president of the National Assembly, and the Ivorian community in Angola.

João Bernardo de Miranda, Minister of External Relations, said at the end of the visit that it would strengthen relations and that there were good prospects for cooperation in the oil industry. An agreement had been signed, he said, under which Sonangol would acquire a shareholding in its Ivorian counterpart.

He added that Côte d’Ivoire had a big oil refinery ‘which could be useful to us within the context of our economic expansion in the sub-region’.

Decentralisation programmes underway in four provinces

Decentralisation and local government programmes are taking place in the provinces of Luanda, Bié, Malanje and Uíje, coordinated by the Ministry of Territorial Administration.  An official source said the process, which was started last year and is expected to be completed by 2008, is being initially undertaken in provinces and municipalities that are relatively developed, densely populated or not badly affected by the war.

The aim is to assist the government to implement the strategic plan for administrative decentralisation and devolution approved in 2001, the source said, adding that it is also to clarify functional and fiscal relations between different levels of local administration, promote participative democracy and increase the capacity of local authorities to plan and manage resources, including land.

US$190 million for road repairs

The government approved a programme on 29 June for the rehabilitation of the main highways, principally those of great economic importance. The US$190 million programme is aimed at repairing about 1,200 km over a twelve-month period.

Speaking to the press after a meeting of the Council of Ministers, Higino Carneiro, Minister of Public Works, said the programme, to be carried out by the Highway Institute, Inea, still involved completing the projects and inviting tender bids before work would start. Planned to start in the period 2005-2006, it would be financed through ordinary treasury funds and external sources.

The economy grew by 12.2 percent in 2004

Ana Dias Lourenço, Minister of Planning, told the Angop news agency on 21 June that the real economy had shown 12.2 percent growth in 2004.

The growth was essentially due to a 14 percent increase in the oil industry, while the non-oil sector accounted for 9.1 percent. The oil sector, she said, was still the major contributor to GDP – 55 percent in 2004, as against 54 percent in 2003.

‘This means,’ the Minister continued, ‘that growth and recovery in other sectors, especially non-mining ones, are gaining new impetus.’

She was commenting on the performance of the government programme for 2003-2004, on which she was providing clarifications to the National Assembly that day. The Minister went on to say that there was a growth trend in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, where the figure had been 9 percent in 2004, as against 8.5 percent in 2003.

‘This shows recovery in these sectors,’ she said, ‘though it is not yet significant enough to ensure sustainable development and a strong domestic market capable of meeting needs everywhere in the country.

The progress registered, she said, was a result of the stable political situation and relative macroeconomic stabilisation.

Fish catches attain 31,000 tonnes

Fish catches in Angola in 2004 amounted to 31,000 tonnes, a relative increase over previous years.  This was stated in the National Assembly on 21 June by Salomão Xirimbimbi, Minister of Fisheries, during the discussion on the performance of the government programme.  Though not a significant increase, he said, it showed that policies were working.

Annual per capita fish consumption was 17 kilos in 2002, he continued, but this should increase as a result of the adoption by the government of a policy of conserving and multiplying marine species.

The Minister explained that bans on the fishing of certain species, in order to conserve them, could last from between four to a maximum of ten years.

He said there was also no question of liberalising the import of fish, since this would jeopardise recovery in the sector, adding that the government had, however, permitted some limited imports.  Under normal conditions, he said, the country could produce sufficient, in terms of quantity, quality and price, to meet the needs of the population.

Addressing a press conference on 22 June, Salomão Xirimbimbi said his Ministry was no longer negotiating a new fishing agreement with the European Union. He said Angola’s position had always been to preserve its resources, so that the Europeans should comply with the new Law on Aquatic Biological Resources passed by the National Assembly.  The EU, however, had insisted on renewing the agreement on the basis of the old legislation. He had attended a meeting of the FAO fisheries committee in Rome in March and had a meeting with the European commissioner for fisheries. A understanding had been reached on a possible agreement that would not include certain species. 

Only on 16 June, he said, he had received a letter from the EU stating that the conditions required by the Angolan government were very restrictive and member states had decided to cancel the possible agreement.

De Beers to resume diamond mining in Angola

After several years of differences, Endiama, the national diamond company, and the South African company De Beers signed an agreement on 17 June on diamond prospecting in Lunda Norte Province. The interests of the partners are 51 percent for Endiama and 49 percent for De Beers, and the minimum investment is US$10 million, to be made wholly by De Beers. The contract enables De Beers to return to diamond mining in Angola in an area of about 3,000 square kilometres to the north of Lunda Norte. It is for the extraction of kimberlites for a period of five years, which can subsequently be renewed.

The agreement marks the end of a dispute between De Beers and the Angolan government that started in early 2000, after Angola suspended contracts for the sale or purchase of diamonds as part of the restructuring of the sector, which included the setting up of Sodiam, which was given the monopoly of Angolan diamond marketing. Following this, a batch of diamonds sent by Sodiam was retained in Antwerp, owing to a legal request by De Beers, which insisted on its right to market the gems.

There were various unsuccessful attempts to improve relations, after which De Beers suspended its activities in Angola and  started a number of  arbitration cases against Angola, which it lost.

New diamond project in Kwanza Norte Province

A diamond exploration programme was inaugurated by Minister of Justice Manuel Aragão on 13 June in the small town of Fucauma, Lunda Norte Province. In an area of 963 square kilometres of land and rivers, the project is expected to produce 3,000 carats of diamonds a month.

About US$10 million is to be invested in the project, in which Endiama, the national diamond company, and its South African counterpart, Trans Hex, each have a 50 percent interest.

Two hundred and twelve jobs, for both Angolans and foreigners, will be created in the first phase, with this figure rising to 500 in the second phase.

Developments in agriculture

Coffee producers in the northern province of Cabinda have expressed satisfaction at the local government’s programme to buy their coffee.  The programme started in November last year led to the purchase of 80,162 kilos of coffee from 450 coffee growers in 96 villages. Alector Sampedro Araojo, provincial director of agriculture and rural development, said the results had been positive, especially as regards the purchase of coffee in areas to which access is difficult.  All the coffee growers were paid promptly, he said, which was why they were so pleased. In addition to oil and timber, Cabinda is also a potential coffee producing province.

António Sebastião, director of the agricultural development station in Cubal, Benguela Province, said the 2004-2005 agricultural year had been positive.  The success was a result of regular rainfall.

The provincial government in Kuando Kubango has spent US$250,000 since the beginning of the year to buy more than 500 animals, some to be used as draught oxen and some for breeding.  Francisco Mateus, provincial director of agriculture, said this would enable peasants to increase agricultural output and to restore cattle breeding in the next five to ten years.  He said it was part of a project that had been implemented since 2002, through which oxen were already being used for ploughing and they had been increasing the numbers of such species as goats, pigs and poultry.

During a three-day visit to Camabatela, Kwanza Norte Province, in mid-June, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Gilberto Buta Lutucuta said his Ministry planned to relaunch livestock production in the area.  ‘This is a good area for cattle breeding,’ he said. ‘Our intention is to rehabilitate and re-stock the big commercial farms to boost the national economy.’ The aim was to increase the supply, so as to stop importing meat, so that the country could be self-sufficient and also export meat, he said.

The European Union is to spend more than US$2 million on projects to restore agricultural development stations in municipalities in the north of Huíla Province.  Rodrigues Pires, an EU consultant in Angola, revealed this during a refresher seminar for technicians from the stations concerned.

In the northern province of Cabinda, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Gilberto Buta Lutucuta opened the São Vicente experimental agricultural centre and a cattle reproduction centre during a 24-hour visit.  He also officially opened the 2005-2006 agricultural year for crops of potatoes and sweet potatoes, which involved twenty farmers in the municipalities of Cabinda and Cacongo cultivating 20 hectares of land, and went to see the rehabilitation work being done on another agricultural station to the east of the provincial capital.

 The experimental station of the National Coffee Institute of Angola, Inca, in Uíje produced 9,000 coffee plants in the first six months of this year. Marcos André, the provincial representative of Inca, said they would be distributed to coffee growers, with a view to relaunching production in the province.  This year, he said, they expected a harvest of 1,500 tonnes of commercial coffee, compared with 716 tonnes last year.

Total makes fourth oil strike in Block 32

Sonangol is the concessionaire in Block 32, with a 20 percent interest, and Total the operator, with 30 percent.  The other associated companies are Marathon Oil Company (30 percent) Esso Exploration and Production Angola (15 percent) and Petrogal (5 percent).

Norwegian oil companies boost development

The Norwegian oil company Norsk Hydro has an investment package for the areas of hydroelectric power and aluminium production in Angola, following the success achieved in the oil industry.  This was said on 7 June by Lukoki Sebastião, assistant director of Norsk Hydro in Angola, during a seminar entitled ‘Angola-Norway, a partnership for the future’ held in Luanda.

He said aluminium production required a far-reaching study on power resources and bauxite reserves in Angola.    

Holger Boge, director-general of the Statoil company in Angola, said that during the fourteen years the company had been operating in Angola it had invested US$2.4 billion in oil prospecting, research and production.

He said Statoil was also actively supporting economic and social development projects, through NGOs and its partners in Blocks 15, 17 and 31. This year, he said, it would be spending US$1.7 million on economic and social development projects.

Authorities collect more than 75,000 weapons

Referring to the disarming of the civilian population since 2002, Lisboa Mário, national police director for public order, said in Luanda on 21 June:  ‘75,323 firearms of different calibre and 3,126 assorted mines have been collected.’   He was speaking at a seminar organised by the Inter-ecclesiastical Committee for Peace in

After three decades of armed conflict, he said, Angola had become a country with a large number of weapons in the possession of civilians over which the authorities had no control.

‘It is almost impossible to assess the real number of weapons in the hands of civilians,’ he continued, stressing that they were the main cause of instability and crime and that the disarming of civilians was a  top government priority.

Four million war-displaced people resettled in the past three years

João Baptista Kussumua, Minister of Assistance and Social Reintegration, said in Lubango that more than four million war-displaced people had been resettled in various parts of the country in the past three years. Expressing satisfaction at the success achieved, especially as regards people having homes again and the reuniting of family members, he said that other action now in progress involved ensuring the self-sufficiency of those resettled.

He said that people had not been pressured to return to their home areas, and that some displaced people preferred to stay in areas where they had been living for 15, 20 or 25 years.

To ensure good relations between newcomers and the residents of a place, the Minister continued, there were awareness and mobilisation campaigns in the resettlement areas. It was explained that the resettlement areas would be transformed into big neighbourhoods or villages where the government and its partners will build schools, health posts and other facilities.

More than 300,000 refugees have returned to Angola

More than 300,000 of the 500,000 Angolans who sought refuge in neighbouring countries because of the armed conflict have already returned to Angola. Maria Beneditez, spokeswoman in Angola of the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, speaking on 20 June, World Refugee Day, said that about half a million Angolans had left the country during the 27 years of war, and that since the end of the war in 2002 ‘the refugees who have returned to Angola spontaneously or through programmes organised by the UNHCR total about 308,000 people’.

Maria Beneditez said the UNHCR expected to repatriate about 55,000 more refugees by October, and that this was the biggest operation of its kind in Southern Africa.

She said there were many people, especially in Zambia, for whom it was now harvest time and also students who still had classes, so that it was difficult to know the precise number.  The current repatriation operation, which started in May and would end in October, would be the last for the UNHCR, she said.

She said that Angola also had about 13,000 foreign refugees, most of them from DR Congo, but also nationals of Rwanda, Ethiopia, Sudan and the Republic of Congo, among other countries.

New social projects in Cabinda Province

Seven social projects, worth US$7.3 million, were inaugurated in Cabinda on 16 June in ceremonies addressed by Gilberto Buta Lutucuta, Minster of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Osvaldo Serra Van-Dúnem, Minister of the Interior.

They included clean water systems in the villages of Sassa Zau, Sáfica, Bissasanha and Chinfimbo and a water treatment sub-station in Fortaleza, which will benefit about 20,000 people.

Other projects were generator electricity supplies to two areas on the outskirts of the city of Cabinda and the Malongo electricity plant. 

Reintegration of ex-servicemen

The general demobilisation and reintegration programme, PGDR, adopted by the government and costing US$7.1 million, involves 20,552 ex-servicemen from Fapla, Fala and Elna, the former government, Unita and FNLA armies.  The programme, which is being implemented by the institute for the social and vocational reintegration of ex-servicemen, Irsem, in partnership with the World Bank, includes 24 projects aimed at ensuring support for vocational training and the development of agricultural projects.

An Irsem source said the projects mainly involved agriculture and apprenticeships.  ‘Depending on the wishes of the beneficiaries,’ the source said, ‘we provide support for agriculture and livestock production, but also by opening up irrigation channels and supplying draught animal equipment.’

With regard to vocational training, the source continued, skilled rural tradesmen were employed to train former soldiers in the areas of carpentry, metalworking and other skills.

Other aspects of the programme were awareness sessions on sexually transmitted diseases, the dangers of landmines and the need to respect the rights and duties of citizens.

National forum on early childhood

Speaking at the opening of the second national forum on early childhood care and development on 13 June, Mario Ferrari, the Unicef representative in Angola, said the agency would continue to work with the government and Angolan society to help to achieve quicker results on behalf of children. This, he said, meant giving absolute priority to children, establishing a structure to formulate appropriate policies and providing services for all children and their families.

‘We note with satisfaction that the country already has strategic plans to achieve the specific millennium development goals in the medium and long term,’ he said. He referred to the plan to reduce mother and child mortality by 2008 and to achieve universal education by 2015, in addition to other action that could constitute a national policy on children and plan of action.

Feliciana Teresa, an official in the national budget directorate of the Ministry of Finance, told the forum that the Ministry planned an annual increase in budget allocations for action on behalf of children in education, health and social assistance.  She said the law approving the general government programme for the years 2005-2006 provided for the expansion and development of nursery and pre-school facilities, support for locating and reuniting families and other activities. Government expenditure on children had quadrupled between 2001 and 2004, she added.

Elsa Ramos, an expert from the Ministry of Energy and Water, told the forum that by 2007 it was intended to supply 70 litres of water a day per person in urban areas, and 15 litres a day in rural areas, and to improve sanitation conditions. By 2016, she added, the aim was to increase this to 100 litres in urban areas and 30 in rural ones, in keeping with the policy of supplying water to the whole population.  This, she continued, together with better sanitation facilities, would reduce infant mortality, while it was also necessary to change habits in respect of hygiene. The Ministry planned to hold meetings in communities and in workplaces.

In his address to the forum, João Baptista Kussumua, Minister of Assistance and Social Reintegration, spoke of the reduction of infant mortality, increased pre-school education and family education, as well as new legislation and work in agriculture, power, water, finance and information, all of which meant a considerable improvement in child protection.

He added, however, that there was still a great deal to be done.

Maria das Dores, national director of family policy in the Ministry of the Family and the Advancement of Women, stressed the need to combat poverty and to provide social services for mothers and new-born babies. She said her Ministry was training community and social workers and that education and literacy programmes for women were being boosted.

Among the recommendations of the forum was the establishment of a national council on children, a consultative body to include the heads of public institutions and social partners, to draft a national policy and plan of action. It also recommended measures to defend the rights of children, to step up the monitoring of compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Labour Law, so as to eradicate child labour and economic exploitation, the expansion of universal education and other measures to improve the lives of children, including guaranteed budget allocations for projects related to the survival and development of children.

Ever fewer cases of Marburg virus

The Angolan Red Cross has been distributing goods to the families of people in Uíje Province who have died of the haemorrhagic fever caused by the Marburg virus.  Makumbundu Quiala, coordinator of the Luanda disaster prevention programme, said the goods included mattresses, jerry cans, blankets, sheets, soap and disinfectant, among other things.

The Marburg epidemic and the government’s efforts to control it were discussed at the Center of Strategic International Studies in Washington on 8 June. The meeting, organised by the USA-Angola Chamber of Commerce, was part of the programme of the visit to the US by José Van-Dúnem, Deputy Minister of Health. He had talks with World Bank Officials on a programme to fund projects to combat TB, malaria and HIV/Aids, and with a representative of the Bill Gates Foundation, who expressed an interest in visiting Angola to identify health projects to support.

The Deputy Minister also went to the Institute of Genetic Research in Maryland, noted for its work on sleeping sickness, and to the Johns Hopkins medical school, which does research on cellular and molecular medicine. At the end of his visit, José Van-Dúnem went to Atlanta, Georgia, where he visited the Carter Center, CNN TV, the memorial to Martin Luther King and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Minister of Health Sebastião Veloso told the Angop news agency on 16 June that a helicopter rented by the health authorities was being used to find out if there were any Marburg cases that were not known about.  He said the helicopter dropped teams in villages and neighbourhoods and went back later to pick them up.

The Minister, who was returning to Uíje the following day, said the situation was under control, though there were days when there was a new case, because of families that persisted in touching sick or dead relatives.

The National Union of Artists and Composers, Unac, put on the third benefit show in solidarity with the Marburg victims at the Avenida theatre in Luanda on 17 June. The performers included well known Angolan dancers, singers and musicians.    Previous benefit shows were in April and May, also at the Avenida theatre.

Bio-medical research centre to be established

Natália do Espirito Santo, Deputy Minister of Health, announced in Havana on 15 June that a bio-medical research centre would soon be established in Angola. She was speaking after a meeting with her Cuban counterpart Nestor Marimon, during which she had asked for Cuba’s cooperation and experience in this project, which was so vitally important to the country.

She spoke of Cuba’s scientific know-how, saying that this was an area in which there could be cooperation.  She also recalled that Cuba came in seventh place in the world in respect of countries with the lowest mother and child mortality rates.  Life expectancy in Cuba, she said, was 77 and infant mortality 5.8 percent, while Cuba had one doctor for every 161 people and a maternal mortality rate of 3.9 percent.

Many years of war had destroyed health facilities in Angola, she continued, and the time had come to rebuild them.

Schools and hospitals built and repaired

The Bié provincial government is restoring basic facilities in the municipality of Kuemba, 170km east of Kuito, the provincial capital. Bento Chilingueno, municipal administrator of Kuemba, said a primary and secondary school was being built at a cost of US$130,000, while US$150,000 was being spent on a regional hospital, US$287,000 on rehabilitating the municipal administration and US$482,000 on a new secondary school.

Two primary schools and three health posts were re-opened in the municipality of Kiwaba Nzoji, Malanje Province, in early June, by MPLA deputies. The building work had been financed by Angolan and foreign NGOs working in the region – Adra-Antena Malanje, the Civil Voluntary Group (GVC) and the Danish Refugee Council.

Deputy Loló Quitumba, head of the parliamentary delegation, said the main purpose of their visit was to see projects carried out as part of the provincial government’s public investment programme, since it was a responsibility of members of the National Assembly to monitor government activity, especially budget expenditure.

The municipality of Matala, Huíla Province, is to have a new hospital fitted with the most modern technology.   To be built at a cost of US$100 million, it is one of the projects to be carried out with the Chinese credit line.  This was revealed by Minister of Health Sebastião Veloso during a four-day visit to the province.

After visiting several municipalities, the Minister told the local press that he was satisfied with the work being done in health. Among the difficulties he noted, however, was the fact that medicines for some of the most common complaints were not always available.

Ambassador appeals for continued support for mine clearance

In his capacity as chairman of the forum of the countries most affected by mines, the Ambassador called for greater coordination between the countries affected, the donor community and national and international partners, in order to achieve the goals of the Ottawa Convention on the eradication of anti-personnel mines and other explosive ordnance.

He also stressed the efforts made by the Angolan government to eliminate the scourge of mines, so as to facilitate the restoration of agriculture and the repair of roads, bridges and other facilities, as the precondition for relaunching the country’s economy.

It was meanwhile reported that during the first three months of this year, the British NGO the Halo Trust had demined 14,000 square kilometres of mines in the municipality of Kunhinga, Bié Province.

Hilário Chilingutila, assistant municipal administrator, said the areas cleared were on the outskirts of the communal seat and on the road from Kunhinga to the commune of Belo Horizonte.  He said people were now able to move freely in those areas.

The Norwegian NGO Norwegian People’s Aid has demined 150 km of the road from Luena, capital of Moxico province, to Kuemba, Bié Province. Charles Chitita Lupito, head of the team of 20 sappers working there, said they had already reached the commune of Munhango in the municipality of Kuemba.

Agostinho Benguela of the Child Support Group, an Angolan NGO, told the Angop news agency on 8 June that his group had discovered four minefields in Bié Province since January. He said the areas, containing anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, were being cleared by the British NGO Halo Trust.

Meanwhile, the Child Support Group was continuing to address meetings on the danger of mines in schools and local communities. The NGO has been working in Bié since 1996, in partnership with the Halo Trust and with funds from Unicef.

It was meanwhile reported that 238,000 square metres of land were declared free of mines in the municipalities of Menongue and Mavinga, Kuando Kubango Province. The work had been done by the British NGO the Halo Trust.

Rita de Jesus, head of the planning office of the Inter-Ministerial Commission for Demining and Humanitarian Assistance, CNIDAH, announced that the European Union will provide US$26 million for the national mine plan of action in 2006.

New water systems

Luanda provincial governor Job Capapinha inaugurated five new sub-soil water harnessing and treatment plants in Luanda on 1 June.  Built at a cost of US$120,000 to US$140,000, they will each produce 50,000 litres of water for domestic use, making life easier for many families. The plants are part of a public investment programme that includes fifteen more in neighbourhoods where there is no piped water.

Gilberto Buta Lutucuta, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, inaugurated a water harnessing and treatment centre for irrigating 19 hectares of arable land in Pomba Nova, Kwanza Sul Province, in mid-June. Serafim do Prado, the provincial governor, said that it was now possible to distribute water from the Cambongo River to the community and for irrigation.

Pomba Nova is inhabited by about 3,000 people who started to settle there in 1999 because of the war.

Vaccination in Kwanza Norte

Henrique André Júnior, governor of Kwanza Norte Province, said in Ndalatando on 1 June, International Children’s Day, that 60,647 children had been vaccinated against various illnesses during the first three months of this year.    He added that another 33,477 children had been treated for parasites, while 43,162 had been given vitamin A.

He went on to say that, owing to improved services and medical supplies, the mortality rate had fallen by three percent in comparison with the same period last year.

Minister at cultural conference in Havana

Speaking in Havana on 14 June, Minister of Culture Boaventura Cardoso spoke of Angola’s successful participation in the 4^th International Conference on Culture and Development, held in the Cuban capital.

A musical and cultural show organised by the Angolan Embassy in his honour was attended by African Ministers of Culture, delegates to the conference and Cuban culture officials.

The Minister said on his return to Angola that his Ministry was going to contract Cuban teachers to work in Angolan art schools.  Before the teachers arrived early next year, he said, two or three Cuban experts would come to help structure the classes.

Meeting discusses film industry

Angolan film directors, producers and technicians and film lovers met in Luanda on 28 and 29 June to discuss the current state of the cinema and audiovisual arts, with a view to reviving them.

The meeting, an initiative of the Ministry of Culture, was organised by the Angolan Cinema, Audiovisual and Multimedia Institute, Iacam.

Among the participants were representatives from seventeen provinces who described the situation in their areas. 

Miguel Hurst, director of Iacam, said the country once had a film industry but now there was little of it left, apart from the emergence of some independent producers.

Angolan films and videos were shown in the evenings, ending with a screening of Na Cidade Vazia by Maria João Ganga, which has won more prizes than any other film produced in the past four years.