Luanda - President João Lourenço clarified, on Tuesday in Ndalatando, that the service provided to the homeland is the reason for the attribution to the new infrastructures of the names of individuals linked to politics, religion or other areas.
The President upheld this principle when speaking to journalists following the inauguration of the Mário Pinto de Andrade General Hospital, one of the main African intellectuals and nationalist leaders of the twentieth century, especially known for his role in the struggle for Angola's independence.
Born on August 21, 1928, in the municipality of Golungo Alto, Cuanza-Norte province, Mário Pinto de Andrade was one of the founders of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in 1956, an organization that would become the main movement that freed Angolans from the then Portuguese colonial repression, before becoming a political party - attest archives.
'There are many who have done so, those who have served the homeland, but unfortunately we are not going to build as many hospitals as the number of patriots who deserve to be distinguished' – argued the Angolan President, after being asked about the reasons for the indication of the names for the new hospitals, and whether the process would continue.
He noted that there are several ways to distinguish the 'patriots who gave the best of themselves, their knowledge, their sweat and, in many cases, blood, so that Angola became independent, became a free and sovereign country'.
He promised that other projects will be named after figures who dedicated themselves to Angola, such as streets, squares and airports.
'What they all have in common is the fact that they have, in some way, served the homeland in difficult moments, in critical moments,' he said.
In recent years, Angola has registered the emergence of new hospitals with the names of nationalists linked to politics, religion and science, such as the Azancot de Menezes Maternal-Infant Hospital, the Cardinal Dom Alexandre do Nascimento Hospital Complex for Cardio-Pulmonary Diseases, the Viana Bishop Emílio de Carvalho General Hospital, the Cacuaco Heroes of Kifangondo Municipal Hospital, all in Luanda. In Bié, the Walter Srangway General Hospital.
As for the importance of the inauguration of the Mário Pinto de Andrade General Hospital, on November 12, 2024, the President of the Republic highlighted that it marks the beginning of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Angola's independence, which runs until December 2025./DEPO/DOJ