Luanda - The draft Laws on the institutionalization of Local Authorities elections, from initiatives by the Executive and the UNITA Parliamentary Group, are being discussed in Luanda, by civil society organizations.
The debate takes place within the framework of a consultative workshop, organized by the Democracy Works Foundation (DWF), which aims not only to analyze the proposals made public, but also to collect contributions from the aforementioned organizations, in order to assist the legislator in drafting a more consensual law.
When opening the topic, the DWF director for Angola, Augusto Santana, addressed the responsibility of civil society with regard to the preparation of this diploma, aiming to bring contributions to cover the blank space left, since the parties have their own specific focuses.
On the other hand, he called for greater interaction between the legislator and all those who can contribute to overcoming the constraints that still remain in order to complete the process.
Regarding the issues of the rise of communes to municipalities and new administrative divisions, the director said that they should not only be seen as political issues, but also technical ones, involving other sciences such as history and sociology, which could help in the process of local authorities.
"Local authorities cannot be seen as a mechanism for creating positions of power, but rather a power that will be close to people and respond to their needs", he highlighted.
Augusto Santana said that there are aspects of life that can only be achieved by trying it out, as is the case with local authorities, but he highlighted the need for the country to take care of the issues linked to Guardianship and its role in supervising them.
He also advanced the need for an annex to the Constitution, which clearly distinguishes the tasks of the central, provincial and municipal powers, as well as the issue of transferring resources.
The National Assembly (AN) generally approved, during the 5th Ordinary Plenary Meeting of the 2nd Legislative Session of the V Legislature, the proposals for a Law on the Institutionalization of Local Authorities, presented by the Executive, and on the Effective Institutionalization of Local Authorities (LIAL), proposed by the UNITA Parliamentary Group.
At this point, deputies are working towards drafting a more consensual law.
DWF is an organization based in South Africa and has representation in other countries on the continent such as Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi and Zambia. MGN/SC/CF/DOJ
