Dos Santos - 'Now we can turn to regional development'

Speaking in Gaborone, capital of Botswana, at the start of official talks on 3 June, President José Eduardo dos Santos said he had come to Botswana with a message of friendship, peace and development.

During the war, he said, relations between the two countries had in a way been distant, because attention and efforts were mainly centred on solving the military conflict that beset Angola for many years, with repercussions on many states in the region.

However, the President continued, thanks to the political and diplomatic efforts of Botswana and other countries and the fundamental action of Angolans, it had been possible to resolve the conflict, the bloodiest and longest in Africa. 'Now we can turn our attention to the issues of reconstruction, cooperation and the development of our region,' he said.

He went on to say that Angola wanted to learn from Botswana's experience in agriculture, livestock production and the exploration and management of mineral resources.
'Botswana is known as an example of good governance and democracy. It Has a healthy economy and one of the highest per capita incomes in the region (more than US$3,000 a year), which is a source of pride for its people. It is a target for us, whose per capita income is less than US$500,' he said.

As well as learning from Botswana, the President said, Angola wanted to discuss regional issues like the conflict in DR Congo and the situation in Zimbabwe. It was also interested in discussing such issues as the joint management of water resources, the use of hydroelectric schemes for the benefit of states in the region, and the rehabilitation of railway lines and highways between Southern African countries, as facilities for a future common market.

In his address, the President of Botswana, Festus Mogae, praised President dos Santos for his tireless efforts to achieve peace in Angola and wished the people of Angola a future of peace. He said that Botswana had been part of an international commission on sanctions against Unita and had made domestic efforts to ensure that the embargo against Unita was not violated.

The Angolan President's visit to Botswana, he said, opened new opportunities for greater cooperation between the two countries. Speaking to the Angolan press in Gaborone, Angola's Deputy Minister of External Relations, Georges Chicoti, said there already was a tripartite project, involving Angola, Botswana and Namibia, to develop the Kubango River basin.

Addressing staff at the SADC secretariat in Gaborone, President dos Santos, who is current chairperson of the regional organisation, spoke of the need for implementing decisions on restructuring SADC and completing the sub-regional development plan.

'The proper functioning of this secretariat contributes substantially to the strengthening of confidence among member states at a time when the African Union has also been created and its structures are being established,' he said. The President also had a private meeting with SADC executive secretary Pega Ramsamy.

President criticises preconditions for aid

Addressing a joint press conference with President Festus Mogae at the end of his official visit to Botswana, President José Eduardo dos Santos criticised developed countries and international financial institutions for making good governance a precondition for aid to less developed countries.

'Good governance should be a government goal and programme and not just a demand of the international community,' he said. It should be one of the aims of assistance, but not a precondition, he said.

'Good governance is a subjective concept and applies to any country in the world, not just African governments,' the President continued. 'In a democratic system, governments that do not govern well are not re-elected.' Angola's government, he said, was making efforts to improve governance.

'Angola is not the only case in which the international community makes promises about reconstruction after a war and those promises are not fully kept,' he went on to say. Angolans had to be patient 'because Afghanistan is still waiting and we'll see how things go in Iraq'.

However, the main national reconstruction effort had to be domestic, even if there were a relative increase in international aid, dos Santos said. He appealed to all Angolans to do their utmost for the reconstruction of the country, just as they had when the need had been to defend territorial integrity and achieve peace.

Prime Minister visits Cape Verde

The Prime Ministers of Angola and Cape Verde, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos 'Nandó', and José Maria Neves, have expressed the desire to establish a strong strategic partnership between the two countries.

During official talks that opened in Praia on 18 June they agreed to carry out feasibility studies on the establishment of joint enterprises in the areas of agriculture and fisheries and to strengthen cooperation in many areas.

It was agreed that Angola would have a 60 percent shareholding in a joint agriculture and livestock production company, while Cape Verde would have a 60 percent interest in the fisheries company. Land had already been set aside for a pilot agricultural project in Sumbe, capital of Kwanza Sul Province.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by Osvaldo Serra Van-Dúnem, Minister of the Interior, Desidério da Costa, Oil Minister, André Luís Brandão, Minister of Transport, Salomão Xirimbimbi, Minister of Fisheries, and Conceição Cristóvão, his advisor on regional and local matters.

During an official dinner, Prime Minister Nandó said that 'in Angola peace has come to stay'. He went on to say that resettlement and social reintegration were proceeding well, despite some difficulties caused especially by lack of funds.

Angola, he said, still needed international help for the resettlement of demobilised soldiers and their families, and he appealed to Cape Verde to raise its voice in international forums, so that Angola might receive the aid it needs.

He said the war had left 4.5 million people displaced, and the new challenge was the reintegration of hundreds of thousands of refugees in neighbouring countries who wished to return to Angola.

At the end of the visit, an agreement was signed on action to be taken to strengthen cooperation in the areas of transport, fisheries, oil, agriculture, public works, tourism, personnel training and internal administration.

Dos Santos says Unita has now embraced ideals of peace

In a message expressing congratulations on the election of Isaías Samakuva as the new president of Unita, President José Eduardo dos Santos said that the manner in which the Unita congress had taken place showed that it had definitively embraced the ideals of peace and could now legitimately assume its status as the biggest opposition party in the country.

The congress held in Viana, near Luanda, ended on 28 June. The other candidates for the post of president were Paulo Lukamba 'Gato' and Eduardo 'Dinho' Chingunji.
Joaquim Ernesto Mulato was elected vice-president of the organisation and Mário Miguel Kanhali Vatuva became secretary-general.

New chief of general staff of FAA

President José Eduardo dos Santos swore in General Agostinho Fernandes Nelumba 'Sanjar' as chief of general staff of the Angolan Armed Forces on 27 June.

He replaced General Armando da Cruz Neto, who had asked to be relieved of his post for health reasons.

General Sanjar was the third to assume the command of FAA - the unified national army - under conditions of peace, following on after João de Matos and Armando da Cruz Neto.

At a farewell ceremony in Luanda, Armando da Cruz Neto spoke of events during the two years he had been in office and said that now the war was over there was still a need to maintain organised, strong and disciplined armed forces.

General Nunda, deputy chief of general staff, said that the two years in which Armando da Cruz Neto had headed the armed forces had been decisive to winning peace in the country.

Final closure of reception centres for former Unita soldiers

A symbolic ceremony to mark the closure of the 35 reception areas for former Unita soldiers took place in Mavinga, Kuando Kubango Province, on 19 June.

Speaking at the ceremony, João Baptista Kussumua, Minister of Assistance and Social Reintegration, said the event marked a special moment in the lives of Angolans. The process, he said, was enabling many Angolans to return to their home areas, and success now depended on improved relations between Angolans, regardless of their political options.

'Our hearts are big enough to be able to pardon and understand past ills,' he said.
The reception areas had held a total of 387,161 people, 81,332 of whom were former soldiers and 305,829 their dependents.

There were reception areas in fifteen of the country's provinces and none in Luanda, Cabinda or Namibe.

Despite the official closure of the centres, the process of transporting thousands of former soldiers and their families to the places of their choice was to continue.

Government and Unita discuss outstanding tasks of Lusaka Protocol

Outstanding tasks of the Lusaka Protocol were discussed on 16 June at a meeting between representatives of the government and Unita, with a view to completing them.

Osvaldo Serra Van-Dúnem, Minister of the Interior, and Marcial Dachala, Unita information secretary, headed working groups that identified issues still outstanding, one of the most important being the social reintegration of Unita personnel. He said the process was going well, stressing that it was a huge task that would continue until it was completed.

Marcial Dachala said the government and Unita agreed on the issues and, therefore, he felt there would be a satisfactory outcome.

'There are no differences on the matters we are dealing with because everything is a result of the work we do together in the Joint Commission,' he said.

Roberto de Almeida stresses urgency of donor conference

Roberto de Almeida, president of the National Assembly, has stressed the urgent need for efforts by the international community to ensure the holding of a donor conference on Angola.

Addressing the opening, on 16 June, of a seminar for Angolan parliamentarians on 'the Cotonou Agreement, innovations and challenges', promoted by the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation, he said that the entry into force of the Cotonou Agreement would make it possible to release funds from the new European Development Fund, which has an estimated  13,500 million.

'In relation to Angola, apart from releasing its tranche of that amount, there is an urgent need for international efforts with a view to holding an international donor conference, given the problems resulting from the social and vocational integration of ex-combatants and displaced persons,' he said.

Roberto de Almeida recalled that Angola, one of the signatories of the Cotonou Agreement, had been carrying out a programme that gave emphasis to poverty reduction.

Minister of External Relations João Bernardo de Miranda said in Lisbon on 12 June that there were countries that wanted to sabotage an international donor conference in Brussels to raise funds for the reconstruction of facilities destroyed in the war in Angola.

Interviewed by Portuguese TV at the end of a three-day visit to Portugal, he attributed the delay in holding the announced international conference to 'those who gained a lot from the war and are not pleased that Angola has achieved peace'.

There were two images of Angola, he said, a good one and a bad one. The bad one, he continued, was unfair, because it was associated with a level of corruption that simply did not exist, though he admitted that there was some corruption.

'No longer having the argument of the war, they are now thinking up new reasons to project a negative image of the country,' he said.

Angola asked to help to bring peace to DR Congo

Ismael Gaspar Martins, Angola's Ambassador to the United Nations, said in Luanda on 10 June that the UN Secretary-General had asked Angola to provide a contingent for the UN mission in DR Congo.

He was speaking after President José Eduardo dos Santos had received a UN Security Council delegation headed by the Frenchman Jean Marc de la Sablière, which included representatives of the fifteen members of the Council.

The mission, within the framework of efforts to achieve peace in DR Congo, especially the east of the country, had come to Angola to ask President José Eduardo dos Santos to help to overcome the current situation in the DRC.

'The contribution made by the Angolan President to winning peace in Angola and his influence in the region prompted us to sound out his views,' Jean Marc de la Sablière had said on his arrival in Angola.

Ismael Gaspar Martins said that at this stage Angola would be providing 'essentially political support'.

Angola would seek to persuade those involved in DR Congo to come to an agreement, in order to restore stability, he said.

Cabinda separatists give themselves up

Francisco Luemba, former chief of staff of the Flec-Fac separatist faction, who recently gave himself up to the Angolan Armed Forces, told the press in Cabinda on 8 June that there was no longer any reason for his organisation to seek to occupy the enclave by military means.

Some of his comrades had given themselves up, he said, and others wanted to do so, 'because we are all Angolans and must fight for a common cause - democratisation and development'.

Expressing doubts about the future success of the separatist groups, he said the morale of their troops was very low. 'The combatants are very weak and have no support.'

The situation had worsened, he continued, when all support coming from former Zaire and Congo Brazzaville had been cut off and they could no longer cross the borders into those countries. In order to survive, he said, Flec-Fac had started to grow marijuana, which it sold to buyers who succeeded in reaching areas where it was.

Other Flec-Fac officials who recently gave themselves up were Zeferino Mabiala, head of personnel training, and Joaquim Jimmy, logistics secretary.

Angola wants South-South cooperation to lessen effects of globalisation

Boaventura Cardoso, Minister of Culture, has said that only through regional cooperation among developing countries will it be possible to minimise the effects of globalisation. He was speaking to the Pan-African News Agency on 19 June in Dakar, capital of Senegal, where he attended the first conference of ministers of culture of the 78 countries of Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP).

'Though it has technical and scientific advantages,' Cardoso said, 'globalisation impoverishes cultures. Only through such cooperation can countries of the South minimise its effects.' Angola's participation in the conference, he added, was in order to 'add its voice to the efforts to promote African cultures'.

The conference discussed cultural cooperation and the diversity of the cultural heritage of countries in the group. Also discussed was the establishment of an ACP cultural fund and festival.

2,000 head of cattle for Chongoroi

The municipality of Chongoroi, 156 km from the city of Benguela, is to receive 2,000 head of cattle. This was announced on 22 June by João Basílio, deputy governor of Benguela Province, who said the cattle would start to arrive the following week.

Speaking to the press at the end of a four-day visit to the area, Basílio said funds were available to buy the animals from neighbouring Namibia. He went on to say that 1,600 of them were to meet the urgent need for repopulation after the war, while the other 400 were intended to be used as draught animals.

The government, he continued, through the granting of loans, would also distribute ploughs and other agricultural equipment, with a view to the tilling of arable land for the 2003/04 two-year programme.

The programme was geared to increasing basic social services, he said, and provided for the building of three schools and two medical posts in Chongoroi, in addition to the installation of a clean water distribution system.

Following a meeting with traditional authorities in the region, Basílio visited the commune of Bolonguera and Hanja settlement, where he praised the peasants for having increased their harvests.

Council of Ministers approves amended budget

The Council of Ministers approved the amended budget for the current year on 11 June, prior to its submission to the National Assembly.

Following examination of documents presented by the ministries of Education, Finance, Public Works and Planning, the Council recommended that, once approved by the National Assembly, the budget should be scrupulously complied with and also serve as an instrument of financial management.

Minister of Finance Pedro de Morais said at the end of the meeting that the amended budget set the inflation target at 65 percent, as against the 30 percent initially forecast.
He went on to say that the initial target of 30 percent was not realistic, owing to the imperatives of

national reconstruction. While the government's main objective was macro-economic stability, it was necessary to be realistic about the level of expenditure needed to run the country.

'I can say, in defence of that revised target,' he said, 'that the country is still without any great external support. The financing of all public expenditure, national reconstruction and the restoration of economic and productive activity in the country is essentially being dome with the country's own resources. Under these circumstances, it is natural that budget implementation should generate some inflation.'

The Council of Ministers also approved the report on budgetary and financial performance in 2002, noting that the results achieved in terms of macro-economic stabilisation, control of the budget deficit, inflation and international reserves had fallen short of expectations.

The Minister of Finance explained that in 2002 there had been somewhat abnormally high public expenditure, owing to the requirements stemming from the achievement of peace that year. The limit approved by the National Assembly had been exceeded, but this was absolutely justified by the peace process, he said.

Agricultural campaign involved 2.5 million farmers

David Tunga, director of the food security office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said in Luanda on 17 June that more than 2.5 million farmers had taken part in the 2002/03 agricultural campaign. Of these, he said, 1.8 million were peasant families, 1.7 million were other farmers and 126,000 were members of recently resettled families.

Despite good conditions for growing food almost everywhere in the country, he continued, there might be shortages this year in Cunene and Kuando Kubango, owing to a lack of rain. And some peasant families had grown no crops because they had spent their time building houses.

This year, David Tunda said, the country had produced 600,000 tonnes of maize, 80,000 of sorghum and millet, 10,000 of rice, 90,000 of beans, 60,000 of groundnuts, six million of cassava, 269,000 of potatoes and 500,000 of sweet potatoes.

In Matala, Huíla Province, at least 142,768 tonnes of maize and millet were harvested by peasants and farmers. According to Victor Tiburcio of the Brazilian firm Odebrecht, which is rehabilitating the Matala canal, this was the result of crops from an area of 665 hectares of land. Other crops included 2,000 tonnes of tomatoes, 2,000 tonnes of peppers, 3,000 of onions, 5,000 of potatoes, as well as cabbages.

Tiburcio said the peasants had been working hard to produce cereals and vegetables and were now sowing other varieties such as onions, beans and garlic.

The government invested more than US$27 million in the rehabilitation of the Matala irrigation canal.

Repairs to stretch of Benguela Railway

Cristino Reis de Almeida, director of the Benguela Railway, said in Luena, capital of Moxico Province, on 17 June that work to rehabilitate the 315-km Luena-Luau stretch of the line would be starting shortly.

He was in Luena with representatives of an Indian construction company to assess the state of the line and the requirements for starting work. Zimbabwean technicians are also to be involved in the project.

Ninety kilometres of the Lobito-Cubal line have already been rehabilitated, as have 30 km in Huambo.

The aim is to get trains running on the line as soon as possible.

World Bank grants Angola US$16 million

The World Bank has granted Angola US$16.6 million to strengthen the government's institutional capacity through macro-economic reforms in respect of planning, statistics and improvements to public finances and the financial system.

The agreement, which was signed in Washington by Josefina Pitra Diakite, Angola's Ambassador to the US, and Callisto Maldavo, vice-president of the World Bank, was a result of negotiations between the Angolan government and the World Bank that started in February and were aimed at reforming the management of public investments and reducing poverty.

Programme to combat diamond smuggling and illegal immigration

The Ministry of the Interior is implementing a programme to combat illegal immigration and diamond smuggling. The programme, involving the establishment of fixed border posts and investigating the illegal entry of foreigners, was announced in Malanje on 7 June by Osvaldo Serra Van-Dúnem, Minister of the Interior.

The Minister said the work done by the local authorities in Malanje to prevent illegal diamond mining was already producing good results.

With regard to his Ministry, Van-Dúnem said its structures were being modernised in preparation for meeting the new challenges of the future.

The Minister of the Interior was in Malanje at the head of a delegation that included the ministers of Public Works, Finance and Transport.

During their stay, aimed at assessing local programmes in their respective sectors, they visited the Damba and Comarca penitentiaries, the provincial hospital and the water treatment station, and presented a vehicle to the fire fighters at the local airport.

Agricultural inputs in Benguela Province

Traditional chiefs, small farmers and former Unita soldiers living in the municipality of Bocoio, Benguela Province, have been given agricultural equipment and inputs within the framework of the programme to combat hunger and poverty. These include ploughs, seeds and fertilisers.

During the presentation, provincial governor Dumilde Rangel said local government was taking immediate action to improve conditions in respect of education, health and agriculture. He called on the people to engage in production so as to ensure that there was enough food.
Bocoio has about 125,600 inhabitants, most of who are involved in agriculture and livestock production.

Investment in Huíla Province water services

The Huíla provincial water directorate has spent more than US$820,000 in the first six months of this year on furniture, computers and personnel training for the Lubango water services offices. Opening the building, provincial governor Ramos da Cruz spoke highly of the dynamism and commitment of staff in seeking rapid solutions to projects for providing clean drinking water for the population.

Abel Costa, provincial director of energy, water, geology and mines, said the money had come from payments made by consumers, especially those living in Lubango, the provincial capital. He said they were seeking to improve the quality of services, increasing efficiency through the use of computers and courses in modern methods of invoicing and accountancy.

Sonangol announces development of Block 14

Angola's national oil company, Sonangol, and Cabinda Gulf Oil Co Ltd have announced the development of the Benguela, Belize, Lobito and Tomboco (BBLT) fields in Block 14 off the Angolan coast.

According to a Sonangol press release issued on 4 June, the Benguela and Belize project is the first phase of the BBLT development and is already in progress.

Production is expected to start in late 2005 and should result in an output of up to 200,000 barrels a day, according to the statement.

Cabinda Gulf Oil Co is the operator, with a 31 percent interest, and the group also includes Sonangol Pesquisa & Produção SARL (20 percent), TotalFinaElf Exploration & Production Angola (20 percent), Agip Angola Exploration BV (20 percent), and Galp Exploracão e Produção Petrolífera Lda (9 percent).

Prime Minister in Moxico Province

Prime Minister Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos 'Nandó' arrived in Moxico Province on 25 June for a two-day visit.

He went first to Camanongue, around 50 km from the provincial capital Luena, where he presented an ambulance to the Camanongue municipal hospital, making it possible for serious cases to be taken to the provincial hospital.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by Faustino Muteka, Minister of Territorial Administration, Salomão Xirimbimbi, Minister of Fisheries, Marcos Barrica, Minister of Youth and Sports, and the Deputy Ministers of Public Works, Energy and Water and Assistance and Social Reintegration, José Ferreira, Rui Tito and Maria da Luz Magalhães, as well as the directors of Public Television and National Radio of Angola, Carlos Cunha and Manuel Rabelais. The purpose of the visit was to assess the work being done to repair facilities destroyed in the war, as well as such areas as public works, power and water supplies and social services.

The delegation visited the provincial hospital, the Luena water treatment station, fish-breeding tanks and the city's newly inaugurated electric power plant. They also had meetings with traditional authorities and church representatives, as well as local government officials.

Addressing a public rally in Luena the following day, Nandó said that much more could be done now that the war had ended.

'We have conditions for working better, not all the conditions, but sufficient to start to produce some results,' he said. Stressing that the government's first priority was to combat hunger and poverty, he said: 'We all have to work, the government and the population.' He added that the government had to create facilities, while the people had to produce enough to live on as well as creating surpluses.

'It is not possible to change in two or three days or even a month what has been destroyed over more than forty years of war,' he continued.

'We need to be aware that it is possible to improve our lives, and we are going to do so through work and discipline and a few more sacrifices. It is we Angolans who have to improve our lives. No one is going to work for us,' the Prime Minister said.

Mine clearance

Millions of mines inherited from the colonial wars, South African invasions and internal conflict have caused around 80,000 victims, some killed and others maimed. This was stated in Luanda on 25 June by Santana André Pitra 'Petroff', chair of the national multi-ministerial commission for de-mining and assistance and reintegration of mine victims. He was speaking at a meeting of members to review the work done by the commission in the two years since it was created.

Petroff said that although the intensive work done to create mine awareness had reduced the number of victims, 'we still get daily reports of people being killed or wounded by mines'.

Asked how many mines there actually were in the country, he replied that it would soon be possible to know, following an agreement signed with a specialised American NGO, Survey Action Centre.

Work was being done to involve specialists from Unita's former military forces in de-mining, he said.

'We are reorganising Inaroee (the state demining institute) to make it the major public operator, which will require more financial efforts to equip it with mechanical equipment to make it more operational and effective,' he said.

Maria da Luz Magalhães, Deputy Minister of Assistance and Social Reintegration, said her Ministry was a full member of the commission. In view of the huge programme to resettle displaced persons and, now, the return of Angolan refugees from abroad, it was extremely important to demine the zones where they were going to settle.

'Most of our people are peasants,' she said, 'so the land has to be demined.'

Exhuming of bodies in Kuito to start

Exhuming more than 5,000 bodies buried in backyards, gardens and other places in Kuito, capital of Bié Province, was to start on 28 June, the day when the Kuito martyrs are commemorated. João Marques Bango, head of the sub-commission entrusted with the task, said the process had been delayed because of the need to complete the building of a memorial cemetery for the reburials.

Everything was now ready, he said, and 'the people of Kuito will no longer have to live with bodies buried in their backyards'.

Return of Angolan refugees from abroad

Angolan refugees in neighbouring countries started to be repatriated on 20 June, World Refugee Day. The repatriation process, jointly organised by the Ministry of Assistance and Social Reintegration and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, was expected to take two years and cost a total of US$29.5 million. It was believed that the number of those repatriated would attain 290,000 by next year.

Matthew Brook, UNHCR representative in Luanda, said that the first to be repatriated, a group of 360 people from DR Congo would be received in Mbanza Congo and another group of around 250 from Zambia would go to Luau in Moxico Province. Those in Namibia, he said, would return in July, when others from Zambia would be repatriated to Cazombo in Moxico.

Brook said transport was guaranteed. The refugees would spend three or four days in reception centres where, in addition to accommodation, they would receive health care, as well as blankets, soap, cooking utensils, seeds and farm tools.

Authorities from Kuando Kubango Province, the Kandungo area in Namibia and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, met in Rundu, Namibia, on 16 June to discuss the start of the repatriation of Angolan refugees in Namibia. The Angolan Government and the UNHCR had previously agreed that the repatriation of Angolans in neighbouring countries - Namibia, Zambia and DR Congo - should start on 20 June, World Refugee Day.

For the repatriation of those in Namibia, currently in Osire, about 500 km from Rundu, transit centres were to be established at Rundu and on the border and a reception centre at Cainundo, 140 km from Menongue, capital of Kuando Kubango Province.

It was proposed that the first 250 refugees should leave Osire on 30 July.

A tripartite agreement on the voluntary repatriation of some of the 450,000 Angolan refugees in Southern African countries was signed in the United Nations building in Gaborone on 4 June.

The signatories were Georges Chicoti, Angola's Deputy Minister of External Relations, Kwela Gobe, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration of Botswana, and a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. There are 2,400 Angolan refugees who have lived in Botswana for more than twenty years. The UN has earmarked US$50 million for their repatriation over a ten year period.

Chicoti said that, within this framework, the government would do its best to ensure the immediate return of those who wanted it.

Former Unita health workers to be reintegrated

Five thousand eight hundred former Unita health workers identified in reception areas are to be integrated in the national health system. This was announced by a World Health Organisation representative, who said that 5,100 of them had been selected in Huíla Province and the others from all over the country.

In order to facilitate the process, a course was opened at the nursing school in Lubango on 11 June to train a group of instructors to give further training in the provinces where the newly employed health workers will be. There were also to be courses for health service managers, and the Ministry of Health had advertised for personnel to train other instructors.

The WHO and Italian Cooperation were working in Lubango to support the Ministry in preparing the curricula and distributing textbooks. The Italians had provided an international expert to assist the project.

An important aspect of the courses will be controlling HIV/Aids, owing to the danger of the virus spreading with increased population movements.

This year the Ministry of Health has allocated US$1 million from the national budget for training purposes, to which the WHO has added another US$300,000 donated by the European Union.

New schools opened

A primary school was opened by Cunene governor Pedro Mutindi in the Castilhos neighbourhood on the outskirts of Ondjiva, the provincial capital, on 16 June. Built at a cost of US$69,000 provided by the Social Support Fund, it has three classrooms and two staff offices.

Two schools - one repaired and the other newly built - were handed over on 16 June in the neighbourhood of Chingo, 3 km from Sumbe, capital of Kwanza Sul Province. Each school has two classrooms.

Work had started in January on the two schools, at a cost of US$116,779. The Social Support Fund had paid US$114,374 of this sum, while the remainder had been raised by the local community.

A press release issued by the Social Support Fund, said the schools were intended to reduce the distances children had to cover, to enable them to learn to read and write and also to provide jobs for local people. The Chingo neighbourhood has a population of around 21,350 people.

Minister of Town Planning visits Huambo

Virgílio Fontes Pereira, Minister of Town Planning and the Environment, arrived in Huambo on 16 June to discuss the major problems faced by local authorities.

After talks with local officials, he visited areas on the outskirts of Huambo city where erosion has caused ravines.

The Ministerial delegation, accompanied by provincial governor Paulo Cassoma, also visited the site where a residential neighbourhood and university centre are to be built.

The following day, the Minister attended a series of local talks on land use and housing, environment policy, natural resources and legislation in those areas.

Juvenile court opened

A juvenile court was opened in Luanda on 16 June. An initiative of the Ministry of Justice, it is to ensure specialised treatment for children and adolescents in situations of social danger or delinquency that cannot be properly dealt with by ordinary courts.

During the opening ceremony, Minister of Justice Paulo Tjipilica said the court filled a gap that had existed since independence. The court, he said, was of paramount importance, since it was to protect the rights of children, especially in cases of sexual and other physical abuse, forced labour and other violations. He said the next step would be to extend the initiative to all provinces in the country.

João Baptista Kussumua, Minister of Assistance and Social Reintegration, said in his address that the court was part of the government's public investment programme. He stressed that it was an indispensable investment for guaranteeing the protection of children.

The court will initially operate with a judge, a prosecutor, educators and social workers, and will work in partnership with social centres in the Kilamba Kiaxi, Sambizanga, Ingombota and Cazenga neighbourhoods in Luanda.

Regulated by a law passed in 1996, the Juvenile Court will provide specialised treatment for children.

Health sector in Uíge to be rehabilitated

A project to repair health facilities in Uíge Province was launched during a visit by Deputy Minister of Health Natália do Espírito Santo from 9 to 12 June.

She said that six hospitals were to be repaired and refurbished, technicians would be trained, essential medicines would be acquired and support would be given to an anti-HIV/Aids project. The project is to be financed by the African Development Bank.

Return of displaced persons would be 'opportune'

João Baptista Kussumua, Minister of Assistance and Social Reintegration, has said that the return of displaced persons concentrated in Luanda to their home areas would be 'opportune', so that they could take advantage of the current agricultural year.

Speaking on 12 June at Viana II camp for displaced persons from Moxico Province, which he visited with Luanda governor Simão Paulo, he said the provincial government should find out how many people were interested.

No new cases of polio in past year

The Deputy Minister of Health, José Van-Dúnem, revealed on 10 June that there had not been any case of polio detected in Angola for a year.

Van-Dúnem stressed the end of the constraints of difficult access to some areas because of the war. Things were much more encouraging now, he said, owing also to increased refrigeration facilities and training.

Resettlement of displaced persons in Huambo

Maria Lucília, director of the Ministry of Assistance and Social Reintegration in Huambo Province, told a visiting group of National Assembly members on 5 June that the Ministry had resettled 541,463 people previously living as displaced persons in various places in the province.

As a result, she said, children who had been living on the streets in the city of Huambo were reunited with their families in Ganda, Cubal, Balombo and Bié.

Those resettled, she continued, had received food, clothing, farm tools and inputs and support in respect of health and education. Contributions to this had been made by Unicef, the World Food Programme, the International Committee of the Red Cross and some NGOs, she said.

Food donations from Italy and Spain

The Italian government has donated 443 tonnes of food to Angola for the social reintegration programme in the south of the country. During a ceremony in early June in the port of Namibe, the Italian Ambassador, Fredi Basteli, handed over the first 167 tonnes of beans, in the presence of João Baptista Kussumua, Minister of Assistance and Social Reintegration.

The donation was to help the reintegration programme in the provinces of Namibe, Huíla, Cunene and Kuando Kubango.

Meanwhile, on 3 June the World Food Programme in Angola received 1,170 tonnes of maize worth US$730,000 from the Spanish government in Lubango. The maize, for distribution to needy people in the reception areas for former Unita troops and their families in Galangue (Huíla), Huambo and Kuando Kubango, had been bought from farmers in Huíla Province. The buying of locally produced agricultural crops not only helps the needy, but is an incentive to farmers, who can sell their produce to the WFP.

The WFP had been distributing eleven tonnes of foodstuffs - maize, beans, peas, soya oil and salt - to 900 demobilised troops and their families since the start of the week.

Rebuilding in Cunene to cost US$7 million

The programme to rebuild social and economic facilities in Cunene Province is to cost an estimated US$7 million. This was announced on 1 June by General Higino Carneiro, Minister of Public Works, after a visit to the province.

The work, he said, would include the provision of fresh piped water for the provincial capital, Ondjiva, and completing repairs to the local airport, the provincial office of the Ministry of Finance, the hospital and roads.

Benguela government to improve basic services

Agostinho Felizardo, deputy governor of Benguela Province, has said that the provincial government plans to spend US$2.9 million in the period 2003/2004, as part of a programme to improve basic services in the municipality of Bocoio. This, he said, would affect the areas of education, health, power and water, as well as agriculture and communications, particularly in the communes of Monte Belo, Cubal Lumbo, Passi and Chila.

He said there were plans to build primary and secondary schools in municipal and communal seats, to include housing for teachers. The municipal hospital would be repaired, he continued, while a medical post and housing for doctors would be built in the municipal seat.

The programme included the repair of irrigation channels, preparing 330 hectares of land for farmers in the resettlement and reintegration programme, and providing draught animals.

The government, he said, would also rehabilitate the water and power supply systems. By late 2004, he added, Bocoio would have a telephone system with international links and would be able to receive Angolan TV programmes, as part of efforts to extend these to all municipalities.
The Social Support Fund would also be carrying out some projects in the areas of water, education and health, he added.

Seminar on theatre

The Jornal de Angola reported on 18 June that six theatrical groups in Huíla had attended a ten-day seminar in Lubango organised by the local department of culture, during which themes discussed included the history of the theatre, acting, stage management and stage techniques, among others.

Américo Chicote, head of the department, stressed the importance of the theatre to people's lives and its crucial role in educating the people.

He spoke of the need for efforts to promote and develop theatre and other arts like music, dance and handicrafts.