Ondjiva - The Attorney General of the Republic, Hélder Pitta Groz, defended on Monday, in Cunene province, the need for greater consultation on the theft of cattle, in order to minimize the problem that tends to spread throughout the country.
The official, who was speaking at the closing ceremony of the Workshop on 'cattle theft in the southern region of Angola', said that cattle theft does not only affect the south of the country, but has spread to other provinces such as Cuanza-Sul and Benguela.
For this reason, he said that it is not enough just to listen to the various segments of society, but the fundamental thing is to coordinate to find viable mechanisms from the base to globally combat or minimize this practice.
Pitta Groz also stressed the need for greater awareness and education of communities, to ensure the prevention system, education of civil society in the transmission of values from generation to generation, in order to value community wealth that can contribute to the improvement of the country's economic situation.
He clarified that cattle theft and robbery should not be seen only as a cultural issue, but to what extent this tradition is not preventing progress with breeders.
“If cattle breeders start to become unmotivated and stop raising cattle, there will certainly be an increase in the existing deficit of meat on the national market, which will lead to an increase in imports at a time when there are economic and financial problems”, he emphasized.
He assured that at the PGR level, the concerns presented will be communicated to the Executive Power Holder, in order to make the country safe, where the slaughter and illegal sale of meat does not jeopardize the food, economic and financial security of families.
The forum, part of the activities of the IV extended meeting of the southern judicial region of the PGR, brought together magistrates from the Public Ministry and the court of the civil and military forum from the provinces of Cunene, Cuando Cubango, Huíla, Namibe, cattle breeders, members of the defense and security, civil authorities and bodies that administer justice.
During the year 2023, police agencies recorded 158 crimes of theft and robbery of livestock in the province of Cunene and the actions culminated in the recovery of 550 animals of different species, 168 cattle, 365 goats, 13 pigs, four donkeys and two sheep.FI/LHE/VIC/DOJ
