Luanda - The Angolan government will continue to support the Agrarian Development Support Fund (FADA) and the Development Bank of Angola (BDA) to increase domestic production and strengthen food security in the country, Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa said on Tuesday in Luanda.
Speaking during the final approval of the General State Account Opinion Report for the 2022 fiscal year by the members of the National Assembly, the minister stressed that this support, which also covers the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC) and other institutions, will also make it possible to offset the costs of importing food into Angola.
On the occasion, the minister reiterated that the Government will continue to listen and promote actions that contribute to the relief of the family budget, through the reduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) on a range of products of wide consumption, for example.
Regarding public debt, she clarified that it had a weight of 45% of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expenditure in 2022, despite the Public Finance Law recommending debt levels of up to 60%.
However, she recalled that, during the 2nd quarter of this year, public debt was set at 74%, after reaching 84% of GDP, a fact that forces the Government to continue working to reduce it to the levels recommended by law.
Regarding the unfinished works that are often carried over to the following financial year, the holder of the Finance portfolio said that the Executive has been recommending that they be completed and only then should the institutions register new projects.
In the same vein, the Minister of State for Economic Coordination, José de Lima Massano, said that the Executive has taken into account the observations made by the National Assembly and the Court of Auditors, taking into account the 2021 Annual Report, which had 71 recommendations, while 2022 had only 21.
On the other hand, he expressed concern about the work being halted, in particular those under the Integrated Program for Intervention in Municipalities (PIIM), which has 200 works that are inoperative, for various reasons, but which are being assessed in detail for resumption.
To this end, he warned that some contractors will have their contract terminated, with the resulting implications, and, in other cases, the Government will inject the values for the respective conclusions.
The State General Account Opinion Report for the 2022 fiscal year was approved during the seventh extraordinary plenary meeting of the National Assembly, with 106 votes in favor, 67 against and five abstentions.
The document brings together 30 recommendations addressed to the Executive, with a view to improving accountability and budget execution.
The General State Account comprises the accounts of all central and local State administration bodies, services and institutes, autonomous funds, as well as sovereign bodies.
During the 2022 fiscal year, the social sector benefited by 22%, with 3.58 billion kwanzas, followed by the defense and security sector with 2 billion kwanzas (13%), the general public services sector 2.1 billion and the economic sector, with 1.3 billion kwanzas. OPF/QCB/DOJ
