Luanda - Members of the National Assembly on Tuesday recommended the need for the Angolan government to boost the Infrastructure Construction Programme for directed self-construction, as it is the most viable and least costly solution to progressively replace the centrality project in the country.
This alert is part of 62 recommendations contained in the Joint Opinion Report on the Draft Law on the General State Budget/2025, approved today in detail and will go to the final global vote this Thursday (12).
On the last day of debate and approval of this document in the National Assembly, parliamentarians also defended the creation of legal mechanisms for the promotion of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), in the context of the construction, rehabilitation, maintenance and conservation of roads.
They also pointed out the need to prioritize the availability of funds for the rehabilitation of the main municipal roads, which serve for the flow of agricultural production.
The improvement of budgeting and internal budget inspection mechanisms, so that the difference between the budgeted and approved amounts in the State Budget is reduced, as well as the strengthening of the dialogue between the General Tax Administration (AGT) and taxpayers in matters of tax litigation are also part of the recommendations of the Members of the Parliament (MPs).
In the social field, the parliamentarians defended that, through relocation, using the Budget Unit in the Ministry of Health, the funds of the project 'Strengthening the National Epidemiological Surveillance System', with one billion and 500 million kwanzas, and 'Community Health' (Kz 500 million) should be reinforced.
In addition, they also pointed to the improvement of the Program to Combat Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases, with one billion and 300 million kwanzas, and the Support for People with Albinism, with Kz 141 million and 88 thousand.
Among other recommendations, they also called for the budget allocation of the Lunda-Sul Paediatric Hospital, the Budget Unit of the Government of the Province of Luanda to be redirected and the funds for the Programme to Combat HIV/AIDS be safeguarded and reinforced.
Education
For this area, it was recommended that the financial allocations of the 'Pre-School Education' sub-functions, entered with a budget allocation of Kz 194 billion 404 million 797 thousand and 396 kwanzas, and primary education, with Kz 777 billion 619 million 189 thousand and 586, as they are different items, be separated.
Likewise, they concluded that the standardization of the teaching of the Portuguese language in the National Education System of public and private entities should be accelerated, as well as the standardization of the criteria for allocating budget allocations to secondary schools of the second cycle, to ensure their better functioning.
They also highlighted the need to find alternatives to the products that are part of the school lunch menu, so that products of local origin are included, preferably from the areas where the respective educational institutions are located, making the students' diet less costly.
Real economy
In this regard, the MPs want to see improved mechanisms for disbursing certified commercial debts with their suppliers, in order to avoid the constant complaints of traders, as well as to strengthen the dissemination of funds that focus on the promotion of agricultural, livestock and industrial activity, with regard to the scope of the different credit portfolios.
For the Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas sector, they considered that fuel subsidies should be removed in a progressive and socially sustainable way, in order to expand the State's sources of revenue and mitigate the consequences of fuel smuggling.
In the field of Energy and Water, parliamentarians want the reinforcement of surveillance and control measures against acts of vandalism to energy and water infrastructures, taking into account the enormous damage caused to the sector and the economy. Therefore, they call for the punishments of offenders to be publicized by the media.
The State Budget proposal for 2025 includes revenues and expenses valued at 34.63 trillion kwanzas and presents, as its main lines of strength, a real growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 4.14 percent, to be driven by growth in the non-oil sector, which is expected to grow 5.1 percent.
The budget also provides for the reduction of VAT on production equipment, from the current 14% to 5%, maintaining the payment period introduced in 2023 of up to 24 months.
The document also includes measures to support investment in food security, through the restructuring and dynamization of the cereals and grains sector, strengthening agricultural mechanization, mainly with regard to family agricultural production.
This proposal was prepared on the basis of an oil price of US$70/barrel and oil production of one million and 98 thousand barrels of oil per day, predicting lower inflation of around 16.6%, compared to the accumulated inflation rate of 23.4% that is expected by the end of 2024.
The parliamentarians of the 1st Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs, 4th Committee on State Administration and Local Government and 5th Committee on Economy and Finance gave a favorable opinion to the Joint Opinion Report and the Draft Resolution of the 2025 State Budget Proposal, in a debate that was attended by the Minister of State for Economic Coordination, José de Lima Massano. ASS/QCB/DOJ
