Government
reshuffle
President
José Eduardo dos Santos removed Fernando Faustino
Muteka, Minister of Territorial Administration, Virgílio
Ferreira de Fontes Pereira, Minister of Town Planning and
the Environment, and Vitorino Domingos Hossi, Minister of
Trade, from their posts on 22 October.
Virgílio
Fontes Pereira was appointed Minister of Territorial Administration,
Joaquim Ekuma Muafumua becomes Minister of Trade and Diakunpuna
Sita José is the new Minister of Town Planning and
the Environment.
Also
removed from their posts were the Deputy Ministers of Fisheries,
Henrique André Júnior, the Interior, Diamantino
Saunbo Kungulo, and Information, Graciano Tulumo.
They
were replaced by Victória Francisco Lopes de Barros
Neto for Fisheries, Júnior Kuamutali Uambique Kanavanaqui
for the Interior and Fonseca Manuel Chindondo for Information.
Also
dismissed from their posts were the provincial governors
of Bengo, Isalino Mendes, and Kwanza Norte, Manuel Pedro
Pacavira, and the vice-governor of Zaire Province for economic
and social affairs, Domingos Dilu Kumbo. The provincial
governor of Bengo is Jorge Inocêncio Dombolo, the
governor of Kwanza Norte Henrique André Júnior
and the vice-governor of Zaire José Simão
Helena.
José
Eduardo dos Santos also appointed Manuel Helder Vieira Dias
Júnior director of the newly formed National Reconstruction
Office, and dismissed Adriano Estevão da Silva Maiano
from the post of director of the Office of Special Works,
replacing him with Manuel Ferreira Clemente Júnior.
Intelligence
services denounce attempted terrorist penetration
During
a talk in Luanda on 20 October on Angola’s position on the
fight against terrorism, Constantino Vitiaca, director of
information and analysis in the External Intelligence Services,
said attempts by terrorists to establish themselves in the
country through businessmen and some NGOs of Muslim origin
had been noted.
He
said the services were well aware of the activities of these
organisations and of the involvement of some Angolans who,
out of ignorance or a lack of patriotism, had set up companies
with possible Al-Qaeda agents, without having spent a penny.
This penetration, he said, was done with false documents,
since many archives and notary institutions had been destroyed
in the war and it was sometimes difficult to know who was
who.
Most
agents were believed to have come from a large number of
countries that included Brazil, Libya, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan,
Mali and Mauritania, where they had lived as apparently
honest and peaceful people.
‘Angola
is vulnerable to such penetration and does not at present
have the means to control its long maritime and land borders,
though steps are being taken to limit the action of people
thought to have links with terrorism,’ he said.
One
of the methods used, Vitiaca said, was to work under the
cover of merchants, setting up storehouses and shops in
different neighbourhoods of Luanda. He said food and domestic
appliances were sold there at extremely low prices, since
the goods were sent by someone abroad who sent the money
and received only part of the profits of an apparently legal
operation - money laundering. Other companies were unable
to compete with them because their prices were lower than
normal costs.
‘In
this way,’ he said, ‘these agents try to control the informal
market and the circulation of money, which does not enter
the banks. Since the money is not banked, they can influence
the exchange rate and, whenever they so wish, think up strategies
to undermine Angola’s economy.’
Constantino
Vitiaca went on to say that there were Muslim organisations
setting up primary and secondary schools with the aim of
indoctrinating people, while other such organisations wished
to give military training to young people, though this was
the exclusive preserve of the state.
The
talk was held at the Institute of International Relations,
a body coming under the Ministry of External Relations,
and attended by students from the institute and Ministry
officials.
British
MPs visit Angola
Four
British Labour Party MPs - Jeremy Corbyn, Lord (Bob) Hughes
of Woodside, Ronnie Campbell and John Cummings -- paid a
visit to Angola in late October, invited by the National
Assembly.
At
a meeting with Aguinaldo Jaime, Minister in the office of
the Prime Minister, they said that for Britain the holding
of an international donor conference depended on Angola
reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
Aguinaldo
Jaime said this was because there was still a negative image
of the country in some circles, owing to the limited publicity
given to successes achieved in the national economy.
He
said there was, however, a ‘constructive climate’ in relations
between Angola and the IMF and that an IMF delegation would
be coming to Angola shortly to examine the general state
budget for 2005. A favourable report on the budget, he said,
would be the basis for a formal agreement with the IMF.
Aguinaldo
Jaime spoke of progress made in the national economy. There
was a period, he said, when there was virtually no financial
system, with high inflation rates and an excessive budget
deficit. Recently there had been macro-economic progress.
There were now ten commercial banks. International liquid
reserves had increased from US$323.7 million in December
2002 to US$626.7 million in December 2003.
Inflation,
which had been 268.3 percent in 2000, had fallen to 116
percent in 2002, 105 percent the following year and 76 percent
in 2003. This year the rate was expected to be less than
40 percent. He also spoke of the government’s poverty reduction
strategy.
Following
a meeting with Job Capapinha, coordinator of the Luanda
Management Commission, Jeremy Corbyn said they had had the
opportunity to see some of the problems faced in Luanda
and would do all they could to persuade the British government
to provide technical support for projects in the capital.
‘We
were impressed by the projects we saw in sanitation, water,
health, education and road improvement,’ he said.
In
Kuito, capital of Bié Province, on 27 October, the
delegation saw the effects of the armed conflict. Jeremy
Corbyn, head of the delegation, said he was aware of the
losses and wanted to see what could be done in the areas
of education, health and mine clearance, so as to permit
the free movement of people and goods.
The
MPs visited the provincial hospital, a school, a hostel
housing more than eighty war orphans and sites where public
buildings were being rebuilt.
They
also had a meeting with provincial governor Amaro Taty and
local government members.
In
Dundo, Kwanza Sul Province, John Cummings spoke highly of
the government’s efforts to improve social conditions and
said they would encourage business people in the UK to invest
in education, health and agriculture in the province. He
said the British government planned to put money into power
and water supplies. The delegation visited the pedagogical
school in Dundo, the museum, the library, the Luachimo hydroelectric
plant and the Catxindji lake tourist centre and paid a courtesy
call on the provincial governor Gomes Maiato.
After
a meeting with João Bernardo de Miranda, Minister
of External Relations, Jeremy Corbyn said Britain would
support the holding of an international donor conference
on Angola as soon as possible. Stating that they had discussed
reconciliation and reconstruction in Angola and international
issues, particularly in respect of Africa, Jeremy Corbin
stressed that this was the first British parliamentary delegation
to visit Angola officially with the aim of strengthening
relations of friendship and cooperation.
At
an earlier meeting with Roberto de Almeida, president of
the National Assembly, the delegation promised to support
the elections in Angola scheduled for September 2006.
Delegation
attends Great Lakes meeting in Kinshasa
A
delegation headed by José Alves Primo, secretary-general
of the Ministry of External Relations, was in Kinshasa from
20 to 24 October to attend the second regional preparatory
meeting for a summit meeting on the Great Lakes region.
Speaking
to the Angop news agency before leaving, José Alves
Primo said they would prepare for the international conference
on peace, security and democracy in the region, an initiative
of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan co-sponsored by the African
Union.
Angola
chairs the group dealing with economic issues and regional
integration.
A
ministerial meeting is to be held on 16 and 17 November
and the summit of heads of state and government is scheduled
to take place in Dar es Salaam on 23 and 24 November.
New
coordinator of Luanda Management Commission
President
dos Santos removed Higino Carneiro from the post of coordinator
of the Administrative Management Commission of Luanda Province
on 8 October, appointing Job Capapinha, another member of
the commission, to replace him. According to an official
presidential despatch, this was because the growing tasks
of the Ministry of Public Works required the more constant
and direct attention of the Minister, Higino Carneiro.
Francisca
de Espirito Santo was also made a member of the commission.
A civil engineer by profession, among the posts she previously
held were national director of human resources in the Ministry
of Construction and Deputy Minister of Education. The other
member is António Van-Dúnem, who is also secretary
to the Council of Ministers.
The
commission was appointed in January this year to speed up
the resolution of the major problems affecting the capital,
especially waste disposal and town planning.
Sonangol
discovers new oil well
According
to a press release issued on 28 October, Sonangol, the national
oil company, recently discovered a new oil well in offshore
Block 4 in Zaire Province. It said there were two oil reserves
at a depth of 711 metres and that tests indicated that the
strike had commercial characteristics.
Sonangol
Holding is the concessionaire in Block 4 and Sonangol Research
and Production the contractor.
BP
Angola to produce 500,000 barrels a day
BP
Angola is to start production in the first quarter of 2007,
when Block 18 in Zaire Province is expected to have an output
of 500,000 barrels of oil a day, making millions of dollars
of revenue for the state. This was stated by José
Patrício, BP director in Angola, after a meeting
with Zaire provincial governor Pedro Sebastião.
José
Patrício said BP’s main current activity was in partnerships
with Exxon in Block 15 and in the Girassol offshore well
in Block 17 in Soyo, Zaire Province. Although BP had not
yet started working as an operator, it had ‘already produced
more than 100,000 barrels of crude oil a day and the strategy
is to revolutionise production operations with a view to
becoming one of the biggest companies in the country in
this area’.
He
went on to say that BP Angola, as a strategic long-term
partner of the government, had an important role to play
in creating more jobs, not only in the oil blocks but in
a liquefied gas project. This would permit social investment
to help bring about the development and social progress
longed for by the population.
Chevron
makes new oil strike
In
a press release issued by ChevronTexaco on 12 October, Chevron
Overseas Congo Ltd and its partners announced a significant
discovery at the Lianzi 1 exploration well in the deepwater
area between Angola and Congo Brazzaville.
The
discovery in the shared unit is on the same stratigraphic
trend as previous Block 14 oil discoveries at Landana (1998)
and Tômbua (2001).
The
Lianzi 1 exploration well was drilled in 909 metres of water.
A drill stem test of one of the intervals flowed at a rate
of more than 5,000 barrels a day.
The
shared unit covers the combined portions of ‘14k’, Angola’s
deepwater prospect and part of the ‘A-IMI’ prospect lying
within the limits of Congo’s Haute Mer permit, incorporating
the area along the maritime border between the two countries.
This zone of 696 square kilometres is a result of protocol
and participation agreements signed by Angola and Congo
in September 2001 and March 2002, respectively, in which
it was agreed to share revenues equally (50/50) for each
block.
The
discovery will be followed by geological and engineering
studies to assess the field’s size, reserves potential and
possible development options.
US$13.5
million to restore power lines
Central
government is to invest US$13.5 million to restore the power
supply lines over the 47 km stretch between Kifangondo,
Caxito and Mabubas, in Bengo Province, which is adjacent
to Luanda Province.
This
was revealed in Caxito on 14 October by Eduardo Nelumba,
chairman of the board of directors of ENE, the national
electricity company, after a meeting with representatives
of the provincial government and the water and electric
power companies, Epal and Edel. He said the operation involved
extending the lines to places where there was no electric
power and restoring the Mabubas substation, which was destroyed
during the war.
It
was decided at the meeting to set up a 12-person technical
group to draft the documents required for forming a public
water and power company in Bengo.
He
later visited the Caxito water harnessing and treatment
station and the thermal energy station at the Heroes of
Caxito sugar estate.
Mineral
potential in south assessed
Mankenda
Ambroise, Deputy Minister of Geology and Mines, visited
the southern provinces of Cunene and Huíla in mid-October
to evaluate their mineral potential. He was accompanied
by officials from the Geological Institute and the mining
and licensing directorates. Dias Francisco, head of the
Ministry’s communications and images office, said the aim
was to diversify mining.
They
looked into the possibilities of ornamental stones for the
building industry in Cunene and Huíla. In the latter
province, there were also mineral waters, gold, marble and
black granite, for which there was ‘great international
demand’, he said.
The
delegation also had meetings with local business people
involved in mining. Dias Francisco stressed the importance
of the relationship between central and local government,
in view of the new government policy that investors should
develop local facilities like hospitals, schools and fresh
water and power supplies in the areas where they mined.
Mankenda
Ambroise revealed in Lubango on 17 October that the Ministry
would start a diamond exploration project in Chibia, Huíla
Province, this year. He said the project included the establishment
of laboratories and appropriate equipment, adding that six
Angolan companies, four of which were already mining in
southern Angola, were interested in participating.
Huíla,
the Deputy Minister said, was rich in minerals. Apart from
diamonds and ornamental stones, the government was going
to make studies on gold mining and revive iron production
in Jamba and Gambos.
Technical
fair held in Luanda
The
second International Fair on Civil Construction, Information
Technology, Telecommunications and Transport, Constrói/Angola/2004,
was held in Luanda from 6 to 10 October.
One
hundred and thirty national and foreign companies exhibited
their products and projects and there were also discussions
between government officials and potential investors.
On
the second day of the fair, for example, a group of Portuguese
and Spanish businessmen told Minister of Public Works Higino
Carneiro of their intention to invest in the country, especially
in the interior.
Most
of the exhibitors were from the building industry, but they
also expressed an interest in agricultural projects, which
was seen as a positive sign, in view of the usual preference
for the oil industry.
Government
officials were on hand to give information to participants
and the press about some of the work in progress and advances
made in the country. Pedro Sebastião Teta, Deputy
Minister of Science and Technology made a point of stating
that Angola was one of the thirty most advanced countries
in Africa in respect of technology and not one of the last
four in the world, as claimed in some of the statistics
of international institutions.
On
the fourth day of the fair, the Brazilian construction and
public works company Odebrecht organised talks and theatrical
sketches on HIV/Aids.
The
Arena Angola organisation and the Industrial Association
of Angola paid a tribute to José Armando Sayovo,
who won three gold medals in the Athens Paralympics, awarding
him a Golden Lion medal.
The
president of the Industrial Association of Angola told the
press afterwards that business done during the fair amounted
to US$7 million, which he thought reflected the wish to
introduce new technologies into the domestic market. One
of the best things about the fair, he said, was that it
had attracted new technology and know-how and the possibility
of joint ventures.
Massive
investment in power planned
The
development strategy for the electric power sector in the
period 2005-2016 provides for the investment of about US$2.48
billion to meet the requirements of power plants, transmission
lines and substations.
This
was stated in a document distributed by the Ministry of
Energy during a forum on the development of the electricity
sector that ended in Luanda on 8 October, which said this
would make it possible to make the system operational and
reliable, so as to satisfy consumers in the short and medium
term and increase output.
The
Ministry document said the general law on electricity gave
investors opportunities to secure sufficient revenue to
cover costs and amortisation and to recover capital invested.
Preparations
for agricultural year
More
than 10,000 hectares of arable land started to be cultivated
in October by peasant associations in the commune of Capunda
Cavilongo, Huíla Province. José Muatchipandi,
the local administrator, said the government had provided
60 tonnes of seeds, agricultural inputs, draught animals
and a tractor to support the peasants organised in 37 associations
in the commune.
Peasant
associations in the commune of Dumba Cabango, Malanje Province,
are planning to grow rice on 72 hectares of land. Agostinho
António, head of the municipal agriculture department,
said that last year they had planted only 25 hectares of
rice, but the return of people to the area made it necessary
to increase agricultural production.
He
added that the peasants had planted 412 hectares with assorted
crops that were ensuring food self-sufficiency. He said
that the provincial agriculture department had provided
them with 1,598 hoes, three tonnes of bean seeds and two
tonnes of maize seeds.
The
provincial office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development in Huambo acquired 500 head of draught animals
in early October to support peasant associations. Joaquim
António, provincial director of the Ministry, said
the animals, bought in Cunene and Huíla provinces
for US$250,000 provided by central government, would be
handed over to associations on a credit basis and add to
the 1,000 draught animals already there. The programme,
which included ploughs, was in support of the 2004-2005
agricultural year.
Owing
to the shortage of fertilisers, he said, the 1,850 tonnes
available would be used for seed multiplication programmes
in the municipalities of Huambo, Caála and Ekunha.
The multiplication of maize, beans, wheat, soya, tuber and
groundnut seeds was being done on 20 hectares of land by
association members in each of the municipalities.
Meanwhile,
8,000 families in the commune of Chindumbo, Benguela Province,
were given maize, beans, groundnut, finger millet seeds
and agricultural implements by the French NGO CRS. The beneficiaries
were people who had been resettled in some of the villages
there.
Afonso
Dialamíkua, provincial director of the Agricultural
Development Institute, told the Angop news agency on 6 October
that 4,850 hectares of land were being prepared in Benguela
Province for the 2004/2005 agricultural year, which was
officially opened in August.
He
said 250,000 families were involved in the current agricultural
year, which had started with the preparation of land in
the municipality of Cubal, 140 km from the city of Benguela,
and would be extended to Chongorói, Ganda, Caimbambo,
Bocoio and the coastal strip. Abrantes Carlos, provincial
director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,
said that the private sector might be involved in government
projects this year.
The
priority, he said, was to increase the output of maize,
sorghum, beans and other crops, in view of the province’s
potential.
Later
in the month, 420 tonnes of seeds – maize, beans and sorghum
- were distributed to peasants in the province.
Social
Support Fund has built 1.600 basic facilities
Ana
Dias Lourenço, Minister of Planning, said in Luanda
on 28 October that 1,600 basic social facilities were built
by the Social Support Fund, FAS, between 1994 and 2003,
during the first two phases of its work.
Speaking
at a meeting to mark the tenth anniversary of the FAS, she
added that the international community had contributed to
achieving these results, donors having included the World
Bank, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Japan, USAID, BP, Shell, Chevron
and others.
She
said she was satisfied to know that the institution had
been able to ensure that its work was done efficiently,
promoting population resettlement and creating partnerships
based on the principles of responsibility, solidarity and
participation, as shown by the results.
For
the FAS to continue to achieve successes, the Minister continued,
its work with local governments needed to be better coordinated
from the design stage to those of monitoring and evaluating
projects.
The
great challenge of the third phase of FAS activity, she
said, was to extend the financing of projects to all of
the country’s eighteen provinces.
The
FAS, an autonomous government institution set up on 28 October
1994 and coming under the Ministry of Planning, is currently
operating in nine provinces – Kwanza Sul, Benguela, Namibe,
Cabinda, Huíla, Bengo, Cunene and Huambo.
It
was earlier reported that the Social Support Fund had spent
US$8,157,950 on social and economic projects in the first
six months of this year.
This
was announced in Huambo by Augusto Bogalho, spokesman of
the FAS board of directors, during a meeting of the board
held on 5 and 6 October attended by provincial directors
and deputy directors.
The
money was spent on 305 projects in the nine provinces. In
Huambo, for example, US$799,684 was spent during this period
on 33 social and economic projects, 14 of which had already
been completed.
The
meeting approved a community development project for 2005,
under which it was planned to carry out 475 projects, including
schools, health centres, road rehabilitation and public
fresh water fountains.
During
the period 2004/2007, the FAS plans to build 2,000 social
and economic facilities for a total of US$120 million, to
be funded by the World Bank, the European Union, the Angolan
government and other international donors.
Lighting
restored in Chitembo
José
Amaro Tati, governor of Bié Province, officially
inaugurated the restored system of street and residence
lighting in the municipality of Chitembo, about 160 km south
of the provincial capital Kuito, on 14 October. The system
is supplied by a generator complex.
Anabela
Caiovo Ngunga, director of the provincial energy and water
department, said they were working to restore the lighting
system in all municipalities in the province, with the aim
of improving basic services. She added that this had already
been done in Cuemba, Camacupa, Chinguar and Andulo, and
that Nharea, Cunhinga and Catabola would have lighting by
the end of the year.
Chitembo
had been without electric power since 1992.
Tree-planting
in Huambo Province
Four
thousand plants are being prepared by specialists from the
provincial directorate of the National Forestry Development
Institute, IDF, in the city of Huambo, with a view to restoring
the environmental heritage in that central region of Angola.
The plants, many of them in nurseries, are to be planted
during the 2004-2005 reforestation campaign already in progress.
Mainly
eucalyptus and pines, they are to be planted over a 100-hectare
area in Cambiote and Ndango, on the outskirts of the city
of Huambo.
Others
are to be distributed to municipal and communal administrations
for areas that have been stripped of cover, mainly by the
local inhabitants, to meet their essential needs.
Plant
Genetic Resources Centre exhibition on food security
An
exhibition on Biodiversity for Food Security was held at
the Museum of Natural History in Luanda on 14 and 15 October,
organised by the Plant Genetic Resources Centre in conjunction
with the Biology Department of the Science Faculty of Agostinho
Neto University.
Speaking
to the Angop news agency, Liz Matos, director of the centre,
said the aim of the exhibition was to show the importance
of biodiversity and the need to ensure a varied diet as
part of food security.
It
was also within the context of the TeleFood campaign, the
theme of World Food Day, marked on 16 October. TeleFood
is an annual campaign organised by the UN Food and Agricultural
Organisation, using radio programmes, television, talks,
concerts and other events to raise funds to help needy people.
Liz
Matos said three thousand samples of different plants and
fruits had been collected by her department between 1991
and 2004, though this work had not yet been extended to
eastern provinces and some parts of the north of the country.
Among the varieties gathered, she said, the biggest collection
was maize, of which there were 823 species, followed by
beans, with 600. To preserve the diversity of species, she
continued, farmers needed support to ensure that species
were improved.
Community
development projects in Huíla
The
government has spent US$400,000 this year on a community
rehabilitation programme in the municipality of Chicomba,
386 km north of Lubango, capital of Huíla Province.
Januário
Calola, the local administrator, said the money was used
to build and repair schools, medical posts, fresh water
wells and bridges, and part of it had been used for building
low cost housing.
Other
community projects were in progress, he said, financed by
the European Union.
New
hospital for Longonjo
The
municipal hospital to be built in Longonjo, about 72 km
west of the city of Huambo, will cost the government more
than US$320,000, part of the public investment programme.
António
Paulo Cassoma, Huambo preovincial governor,, laid the foundation
stone of the building on 14 October. It will have twenty
consulting rooms, twelve rooms and other services. Longonjo,
which has more than 89,000 inhabitants, will have a hospital
for the first time. The building work, programmed to take
five months, is being carried out by the Visaconstroi company.
More
than 45 patients a day are currently attended to in the
nine existing health units in communes in the municipality,
which receive monthly consignments of medicines regarded
as insufficient for the growing number of patients.
Programme
to combat poverty
The
first phase of a Ministry of Planning programme to combat
poverty will cost US$3,000 million to be spent on social
reintegration, food security, rural development, health
and education. This was stated in Benguela on 12 October
Carlos Filipe, a member of the forum of Angolan non-governmental
organisations, Fonga, before the start of a workshop attended
by representatives of local civil society to outline the
poverty-reduction strategy.
He
said the number of projects aimed at reducing poverty by
half by 2015 required greater involvement by the government’s
social partners and the international community. The needs,
he added, might increase, which was why Fonga, as a partner
of the government, had been consulting civil society in
different parts of the country to gather opinions to enhance
the programme.
He
said that having seen its implementation so far, he felt
the programme was a valid instrument contributing to peace
and national unity, and that two years of peace were insufficient
for planning projects ensuring sustainable development.
World
Bank assesses reintegration of former soldiers
A World Bank delegation made a four-day visit to Angola
in mid-October to assess the programme for the social and
vocational reintegration of former soldiers and vulnerable
people. Headed by Sean Bradley, World Bank director for
the Great Lakes region, it included experts from different
countries in such areas as agriculture, social reintegration
and vulnerable groups.
During
a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Assistance
and Social Reintegration, after being received by the Minister,
João Baptista Kussumua, the delegation was briefed
on progress made in the programme and discussed ways of
improving it.
The
programme of their visit included also meetings with other
government institutions, government partners and donors,
as well as the Angolan Armed Forces, FAA, and the police.
Issues discussed included the proposed demobilisation of
FAA, coordinating financial efforts, the disarming of civilians,
mine clearance and reconciliation, as well as the role of
the government, local partners and Unita.
In
Ganda, Benguela Province, the delegation saw progress being
made on restoring two irrigation channels at a cost of US$12,000.
Francisco Bravo, provincial director of the Institute for
the Social Reintegration of Former Soldiers, Irsem, said
the project, one of the major agricultural schemes, would
benefit 2,000 former Unita soldiers from now closed reception
centres. He said they would also be given 600 hectares of
land to cultivate.
The
visit preceded the second phase of the programme, due to
start on 24 October, in which action would be centred on
the commune of Casseque. There are about 16,000 demobilised
soldiers in Benguela Province.
The
World Bank delegation said on 15 October that the programme
was going well, since approximately 45,000 of the 97,138
demobilised Unita soldiers were receiving agricultural and
subsistence support, and 4,700 were benefiting from economic
stability assistance. According to the Irsem report, another
4,450 had been given vocational training through the Ministry
of Public Administration, Employment and Social Security,
while 1,100 had been employed by the Ministry of Health
and 2,360 by the Ministry of Education.
Sean
Bream, World Bank supervisor for Angola, said Angola was
one of the countries in the region where the reintegration
process was going at a good pace.
Natasha
Meden, a communications specialist with the delegation,
said the World Bank had contributed US$33 million to demobilisation
in Angola, international donors US$48 million and the Angolan
government US$155 million.
Women
parliamentarians in Zaire Province to advise on Aids
Three
women deputies, Maria Sabita and Lúcia Maria Tomás
from the MPLA and Chipepi Isabel from Unita, went to the
northern province of Zaire on 7 October to increase awareness
among adolescents, young people, women and returnees of
the dangers of Aids.
Maria
Sabita told the Angop news agency that though the National
Assembly had recently passed a law on HIV/Aids, awareness
campaigns were needed because the number of cases of infection
was growing.
It
was on the proposal of women parliamentarians that the National
Assembly unanimously passed the Law on HIV/Aids on 24 June
2004.
Drinking
water projects
Drinking
water supplies were resumed in the commune of Camabatela,
Kwanza Norte, inhabited by about 300,000 people, on 18 October,
fifteen years after the supply system was totally destroyed
in the war. The new system cost the government US$500,000.
The
Huambo provincial water department drilled 115 fresh water
wells in the province’s eleven municipalities between 2003
and the first half of this year. They were assisted by the
foreign NGOs Desenvolvimento e Trabalho and Oxfam.
In
cooperation with Unicef, the government also financed the
rehabilitation of the water harnessing and storage facility
in Ekunha, 48 km west of the city of Huambo, while a similar
project in Tchinjenje was expected to be completed by the
end of October.
Department
specialists were meanwhile examining the extent of the destruction
of the water distribution system in the municipalities of
Kachiungo, Bailundo and Tchicala Tcholoanga. The population
of Kachiungo has been without piped water for twelve years
because of the state of the system.
Refugees
returning from abroad
Angolan
refugees at the Osire camp in Namibia started to return
to Angola in early October. An estimated 7,000 had already
returned spontaneously or through the UNHCR repatriation
programme.
Seventy
Angola Airlines planes had been programmed to take returnees
to the provinces of Huambo, Benguela and Luanda, while others
were being taken to Moxico and Kuando Kubango provinces
by road.
Norberto
dos Santos, the MPLA information secretary, recently visited
them at the head of a parliamentary delegation. He encouraged
the Angolans to return home and talked to them about the
current situation in the country, answering their questions
about such issues as social conditions and schooling for
their children. Norberto dos Santos said the government
was working to rebuild what had been destroyed in the war,
but that this was a task to which all Angolans should contribute,
so as to ensure reconciliation and unity.
The
delegation was given an enthusiastic reception and some
of the refugees complained that the repatriation process
was going too slowly. However, Alexandra Boon of the UNHCR
said that everything would be done to speed up the repatriation
‘so that everyone is home by December’.
Programme
for street children
António
Rosa, Luanda provincial director of the National Children’s
Institute, INAC, discussed INAC’s programme for street children
at a meeting on 8 October with Angolan NGOs, associations
and churches.
The
programme was in line with a plan announced by the Luanda
Administrative Management Committee to take the children
off the street during the second fortnight in October and
put them in reception centres and hostels. INAC would then
locate the biological families of children as well as finding
substitute families. According to INAC figures, there are
1,125 street children in Luanda.
Among
the immediate tasks to be carried out by INAC were surveying
the technical and material conditions of reception centres
in every municipality and setting up a team of experts to
make a study of the children’s needs and establish an education
programme specifically for them.
More
than 10,000 weapons collected in Huíla Province
Abel
Mandjanta, a civil defence official in Lubango, said that
over the past eight months the civil defence forces had
collected at least 10,000 weapons in the possession of civilians.
These had included AKMs, PKMs, RPG7s and other weapons.
He said the operation, conducted in conjunction with the
police, had been carried out in Huíla’s fourteen
municipalities and the weapons handed over to the fifth
southern military command.
Despite
the large number of weapons collected, he continued, there
were still weapons in the possession of civilians and the
operation would continue until the population was completely
disarmed.
Abel
Mandjanta appealed to people to hand in their weapons, saying
the country was now at peace and there was no reason to
feel distrustful.
More
than 1,668 members of the Huíla civil defence had
taken part in the operation and the police force is engaged
in the same process.
Mine
clearance on Huambo-Bié railway line nearly completed
Demining
work on the Huambo-Bié stretch of the Benguela Railway
will be completed in November after the removal of 270 explosive
devices on 172 of its 202 kms.
This
was revealed by Victor Jorge, provincial director of the
national demining institute, INAD. He
said the work was being done by 39 of INAD’s specialists
who worked ten hours a day, using manual methods.
They
were currently working in the Cunhinga area, 172 km from
the city of Huambo and 30km from Kuito, Bié Province.
By
the end of the month, he continued, the line would be free
of mines and other unexploded ordnance, in order to ensure
the free movement of people and the rehabilitation of the
railway. He said the local population and traditional authorities
had cooperated greatly in providing information about the
locations of mined areas.
Once
there were again trains on the line, this would not only
reduce the long distances travelled on foot by poor families,
but would facilitate the transportation of goods.
During
the post-independence war in Angola, the Benguela Railway
became a prime target of attacks and ceased to operate.
It was also extensively mined.
Rehabilitation
of Gambos hospital
The
Huíla provincial government has spent US$400,000
since the beginning of the year on the rehabilitation of
the central hospital in the municipality of Gambos, 120
km south of Lubango, the provincial capital.
Elias
Sova, deputy municipal administrator, said the project was
part of the government’s public investment programme for
this year and was aimed at completely restoring the hospital,
which will have maternity, paediatric and general medicine
departments. With a capacity to attend to more than 200
patients, it will also have four wards, an operating block,
emergency and observation wards and an administrative area.
The work is scheduled to end this month.
Gambos
has 15 medical posts, 12 of which are fully functioning,
but they need medicines and sophisticated diagnostic equipment.
The municipality has an estimated population of 151,373
people.
Treated
mosquito nets distributed in Huíla Province
The
local public health department distributed 2,000 mosquito
nets treated with insecticide in the municipality of Chibia,
Huíla Province, during October. Sebastião
Yengadi, head of the municipal health department, said it
was the second such distribution this year.
From
January to September this year there had been more than
13,000 cases of malaria recorded in Chibia, 25 of which
had resulted in deaths.
School
building in Ambaca
The
municipal administration in Ambaca, Kwanza Norte Province,
is building 79 schools to absorb more than 2,811 children
still outside the education system. The schools are being
built in adobe with metal roofs.
The
municipal administrator, José Manuel Mateus, speaking
to Angop in Camabatela, said there were now 302 teachers
for the 13,815 pupils in schools, and at least another 82
would be needed for the 2005 school year.
He
said more secondary schools were needed to prevent students
from going to the provincial capital, Ndalatando, or to
the city of Uíje to continue their studies.
Schools
re-opened in Malanje
Two
new schools were re-opened in early October in the municipality
of Cacuso and the commune of Kizanga, Malanje Province.
The fully furnished schools, which cost US$100,000 each,
have residences for senior staff.
Cristovão
da Cunha, governor of Malanje, said during the opening ceremony
that more schools would be built to decrease the number
of children outside the normal school system.
Simão
Aires, municipal administrator in Cacuso, welcomed local
government efforts to rehabilitate schools. He said that
80 percent of the schools had already been repaired and
refurbished.
Twenty-one
provisional primary schools had also been built, he added,
with the help of NGOs working in the area.
Community
rehabilitation in Cacula
It
was announced in mid-October that more than US$6 million
will be spent on a community rehabilitation project in Cacula,
Huíla Province.
Local
administrator Aurélio Firmino dos Santos said the
money, part of a Chinese loan, would be spent on building
social and economic facilities. The priority areas, he added,
were education, health and power and water supplies. The
purpose, he said, was to improve the living conditions of
the people, especially the neediest.
During
a visit to Cacula the previous week, Minister of Public
Works Higino Carneiro had discussed with the local authorities
what their major needs were.
Cacula,
which is 83 km from Lubango, the provincial capital, is
one of the Huíla municipalities included in the European
Union’s community rehabilitation programme.
