Luanda - MPLA President João Lourenço has stressed the deeds achieved by the government, backed by his party, which over four years of performance managed to build and rebuild several infrastructures that gave a new impetus to the country's development.
João Lourenço was addressing a mass rally aimed to launch the pre-electoral campaign held in Cabinda province on Saturday, as part of his three-day visit to the region.
The leader highlighted the infrastructure in the education and health sectors, as well as the creation of more jobs in the same areas sectors.
He stressed the construction of 79 hospital units, fully equipped, of categories I, II and III, with a capacity for 32,619 inpatient beds.
He spoke of 12 satellite cities, as well as the creation of the first solar panel park (of 2,590 mega watts), in the province of Benguela.
The MPLA leader also highlighted the implementation of the Public Investment Programme (PIP) and the Integrated Plan for Intervention in Municipalities (PIIM). The last one has 2,768 projects, 473 of which have already been completed.
PIIM successes
This programme, he said, which cost 2 billion dollars, of which 500 million has already been spent, is performing great miracle within the communities, in favour of their development.
On the occasion, the MPLA president slammed the opposition for having contested, from the outset, the execution of the PIIM.
João Lourenço said the opposition was well aware of the value of this programme for the country's development.
However, he stated that the opposition seems not to want the government to solve the people’s problems.
He also referred to the construction of new water abstraction and distribution systems in various parts of the country, with stress to the Cafu project, in Cunene province.
The newly inaugurated project has a 165-kilometer canal and 31 dams for the storage of 930 cubic meters of water, as well as the reintegration of 12,388 former soldiers.
Fighting drought and building hospitals
He also announced the execution, in the near future, of a project estimated at 4.5 billion dollars for the definitive resolution of the drought problem in the country, as well as the construction of the first pharmaceutical industry in Angola, without monopolies.
In addition, he said that more hospital units were being built in the provinces of Bengo, Cuanza Sul, Cuanza Norte, Cunene, Huambo and Lunda Norte, as well as the recruitment of another 24,000 health professionals over the next three years.
Cabinda towards development
In his speech, in which he received plaudits, João Lourenço began by highlighting the various investments made in the province of Cabinda, and at the same time, announced the construction of the first local refinery, with a refining capacity of 30,000 barrels a day, as well as the new airport.
He said he was pleased with what he saw in Cabinda, stressing that the province is following the path of development, "a sign that the State's financial resources are being well spent".
In the economic field, the MPLA leader highlighted the fact that, in the last four years, the Executive has made a correction to end the absolute dependence on oil revenues and have encouraged the non-oil sector to grow and develop more agricultural production and agri-livestock.
He also highlighted that the diversification of the economy today is a reality in Angola.
Elections
João Lourenço, who announced the handover, in the coming days, of the headquarters of the National Electoral Commission (CNE) and the National Scrutiny Center, appealed to other political parties to prepare for the task ahead.
He also highlighted the fact that, for the first time in history, the residents abroad could exercise its constitutional right in the general elections in August this year.
Party motto
João Lourenço took the opportunity to launch his party's motto for 2022-2027, "More ambition, audacity in the search for solutions to the people's problems to achieve progress and development".
In his view, the party needs to be bolder and have greater ambition, because "it was ambition and audacity that made us build the Cafu Canal, in just over two years."
