Luanda – The construction and rehabilitation of schools, health units and the Cafu water transfer canal , in southern Cunene province, marked the year in the social field.
After the constraints caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in the previous two years, 2022 saw several projects become a reality and put at the service of citizens.
In the field of social assistance, one of the most impressive was the inauguration of the water transfer system from the Cunene river, the first of five structuring projects to combat drought in the homonymous province, which is benefiting 235,000 families, 250,000 animals and the irrigation of 5,000 hectares of agricultural fields.
Estimated at 44. 3 billion Kwanzas (Kz), Cafu, one of the structuring projects approved for the province of Cunene to fight against the effects of the drought, was inaugurated in April of this year by the President of Republic, as one of the first concrete responses to the drought problem.
Health sector gains new facilities
In the field of health, the year of 2022 was marked by the launch of a public tender for the hiring of 8,000 professionals as well as the construction and rehabilitation of several reference units and health centres, under the Integrated Intervention in Municipalities Program (PIIM).
The sector won, among other units, the Maternal and Child Hospital “Manuel Pedro Azancot de Menezes”, in Luanda, with 200 beds, the General Hospital of Cabinda, with an equal number of beds, distributed by wards for adults, pediatrics, gynecology, obstetrics and intensive care.
Located in the municipality of Talatona, south of Luanda, the Maternal-Infantile Hospital is offering various services, with emphasis on medically assisted fertilization.
Education launches reference schools
The highlight in the education sector was the launch of the “Schools of Reference” (PER) project, which involves 51 schools from all cycles of general education, in a process focused on achieving the long-awaited improvement of educational teaching in the country.
The PER will serve as a model for promoting the improvement of teaching, such as the development of educational projects, the creation of better conditions and professional skills, as well as raising the quality of training.
However, despite the increase in the number of classrooms and the improvement in working conditions, the sector, like the health sector, was also marked by strikes by general education teachers.
In general education, teachers demand, among others, the regulation of single teaching in the 5th and 6th grades, the distribution, in a generalized and equitable way, of school lunches, the integration of teachers with updated categories, the subsidy for teachers who teach in areas rural areas, as well as the reduction of labour income tax (IRT) and the use of uniform by teachers.
Subsidy for higher education courses
Reinforcement of cooperation between higher education institutions in Angola and Mozambique, with a view to exchanging knowledge and scientific research, as well as a subsidy contract for the creation of new courses in priority sectors, stood out in the year ended.
With the cooperation, it is hoped that relations between the two countries will be strengthened, both in the area of education and in the areas of financing training programs and research projects, evaluation and accreditation of higher institutions.
In the contractual field, the memorandum signed for the subsidy of a higher education management course to benefit close to 400 managers and support 18 new postgraduate and specialty courses in the areas of agriculture, engineering, manufacturing and production industry and arts and letters.
Highlight also went to the teachers’ strike, in protest of the alleged non-resolution of the divisive issues contained in the claim notebook, in possession of the Executive.
In the field of evaluating the accreditation of higher education, the presentation of four instruments for strengthening the National Quality Assurance System for Higher Education in Angola was highlighted.
These are the Self-Assessment Guides for Higher Education Institutions and Courses and/or Programs, the External Assessment Manual for Higher Education Institutions, the External Assessment Manual for Courses and/or Programs and the Procedures Manual for Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions and Courses and/or Programs.
During the year, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Information Technology (MESCTI) launched a Strategic Plan for the Implementation of University Incubators in the country.
The initiative, which will prioritize the areas of agriculture, fisheries, health, education and management of financial resources, could improve the prestige and positioning of Angolan universities in research and scientific production.
MESCTI's commitment will be able to develop the national economy, by supporting entrepreneurship and creating jobs, as well as supporting the creation and development of micro and small companies, among other benefits.
MASFAMU creates prize
The institutionalization of the national award “Mulher de Mérito”, by the Ministry of Social Action, Family and Promotion of Women (MASFAMU), was one of the highlights of the sector during the year 2022.
Estimated at 16.5 million kwanzas, for the first edition, the award aims to increasingly value the role of women in the family, social, political, economic and educational domains, rural production, personal development, peace and security, sustainable development and the empowerment.
Among the actions promoted throughout the year, the highlight goes to awareness campaigns on violence against children and women, the rural women's day, the week for the elderly, the campaign in ralation to people with disabilities, albinism and other minority groups.
Climate change
The approval, by Presidential Decree, of the National Strategy for Climate Change (ENAC 2022-2035), after being submitted to the Executive, by the then Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Environment (MCTA), constitutes the main achievement of the environment sector in this year.
The event becomes relevant due to the fact that ENAC arises from the country's need to articulate objectives, instruments and institutions, always in pursuit of sustained economic growth and sustainable development.
It is based on the provisions of the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and policy articulation in terms of mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change. Also relevant were the country's participation in meetings on the environment, with emphasis on the meeting of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), in Côte d'Ivoire, at the 5th United Nations Assembly for the Environment and at the special session commemorating the 50th anniversary of the creation of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), in Nairobi.
Also noteworthy is the participation in the United Nations conference on the environment "Stockholm+50", in the Forum on the Sustainable Blue Economy, in Portugal, in the preparatory meeting of the 27th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (PRECOP27), in Kinshasa , among others.
Fenacult and Bienal of Luanda mark cultural year
The holding of the third edition of FENACULT2022, in celebration of the centenary of the birth of former President António Agostinho Neto, and the second Bienal of Luanda marked the Angolan cultural agenda, throughout the year about to end.
The FENACULT Centenary Special, held between the 28th and 30th of November, aimed to promote the national songbook, recovering the rhythms and songs of the land, as well as praising the achievements of the first President of Angola, António Agostinho Neto.
In addition to honoring the figure of the Greatest Poet, it also served as a mechanism for exalting, valuing and reaffirming the Angolan cultural identity, offering creators, especially young people, spaces for participation and exchange of experience.
The second edition of the Bienal de Luanda, held in November, aimed to reinforce the alignment of the organization's action with the aspirations of Agenda 2063, of the African Union, through cooperation and dialogue south/south and south/north and themes on ethics and artificial intelligence, open science, as well as the areas of quality education, culture, communication and information.
The year 2022 was also marked by the death of prominent figures of Angolan culture.
The country lost the guitarist Anselmo de Sousa Arcanjo “Marito”, from the Kiezos, the kuduro style musician Nagrelha, from Lambas, the musician Leokeny and the comedian Edson Quituto.
