Catumbela – The coordinator of the group of Members of the National Assembly of the Benguela provincial circle, Deolinda Valiangula, defends a strong and serious investment in cotton production, in order to revitalize the national textile industry, generating more jobs and income.
Deolinda Valiangula led a delegation of Members of the Parliament (MPs) living in Benguela on a visit, this week, to the Textaf textile factory, valued at 420 million dollars, whose management has, since 2021, been under the responsibility of the Zimbabwean company Baobab Cotton Group.
Since the unit needs 1,300 metric tons of cotton fiber per month, Baobab Cotton Grupo has a project in the works to relaunch cotton production, which is expected to create opportunities for more than a thousand small farmers.
Furthermore, Baobab Cotton Group also intends to implement infrastructure and agricultural equipment in three different locations identified in the provinces of Malanje, Cuanza Norte and Cuanza Sul, to relaunch cotton production and guarantee the sustainability of the national textile industry.
For the MPLA parliamentarian, without self-sufficiency in cotton production, a large infrastructure such as Textaf becomes increasingly dependent on the outside.
Faced with this scenario, Deolinda Valiangula insisted on the need to work hard on the production of this raw material, still imported from South Africa and other countries.
The person responsible sees the relaunch of cotton production as the fastest way to facilitate the activity of the textile industry.
“It is a commitment from all Angolans that this factory produces the expected results”, she highlighted.
Employability
The parliamentarian expressed her satisfaction that Textaf's general management had hired another 260 young people who have already signed their employment contracts.
According to her, these newly hired young people will now join the 440 existing employees to bring greater dynamism to this factory, which is still not working at 100 percent.
“As they hire more young people, the factory will work more and more”, she stressed, for whom Angola needs to generate jobs, because the unemployment rate is still frightening.
On the other hand, the MP recognizes the evolution of the industrial park in the province of Benguela, especially with the dynamization of the Lobito Corridor.
Regarding the MPs’ visit, the general director of Textaf, Vidal Bazanine, praised the contact with the parliamentarians and highlighted that the manufacturing unit is registering considerable progress, despite the import of cotton.
“If necessary, we will import again (…), but what has been discussed and encouraged is internal production”, he concluded.
During the week, parliamentarians of the National Assembly residing in the province of Benguela also visited the construction works of the administrative and municipal infrastructure in the municipality of Catumbela. JH/CRB/DOJ
