Luanda — Angolan President João Lourenço defended a greater commitment of US private investment in the country, as part of the existing strategic partnership, focusing on the diversification of the economy and the industrialisation of Angola.
The president was speaking during an interview granted to the Public Television of Angola (TPA) and released Monday, within the framework of the United States/Africa Summit, set for 13 – 15 December in Washington.
In the interview, relayed Tuesday by Jornal de Angola (State-run news paper), President João Lourenço highlighted the fact that US investments directed towards Angola and the continent favour more the defence sector and, above all, energy security dedicated to production and exploration of oil and gas.
“The message that we will take to the Washington Summit for President Biden is that we would like to see greater US private investment in the country, to help us industrialise and diversify the economy”, said the Head of State, recognising that Angola and other States on the African continent are still poorly industrialised.
The Head of State considered the relations with the United States to be “excellent” and assured that Angola is already carrying out “quite seriously” investments in energy infrastructure, to guarantee the country’s industrialisation.
He underlined that with the contribution of the US Government, the Angolan Government is working to cover the country with electricity from clean sources, with emphasis on photovoltaics. He also mentioned the effort to build more infrastructure in Education and Health, as a priority for his second term.
Meanwhile, the president he made it known that the Executive will carry out more actions in the field of roads.
Mid-term results at the Washington Summit
The Head of State said he hoped that the United States/Africa Summit, which next December will discuss the future of the African continent, in a face-to-face meeting between President Joe Biden and several African statesmen, will bring results in the medium and long term and not be just another event.
At the international event, President João Lourenço promises to persuade the US Government to invest more and more in Africa, bearing in mind the great potential of the continent, in the most varied sectors.
“What we are going to say to President Biden is that America must bet more on our continent, because Africa has a very large economic potential”, said the Head of State, adding that with the situation of the war in Ukraine, it is an ideal time to start to look at the continent with different eyes.
João Lourenço reiterated that Angola is against any war on the planet, not only because it is a member and knowledgeable of the Charter of the United Nations, but, above all, because it has already been the victim of an armed conflict that destroyed the country.
“We are well aware of the consequences of the war, we had our country destroyed, with a lot of human losses, displaced people, refugees. For that reason, we do not wish this on anyone. Wars only bring misfortunes. We have always defended the immediate end of the war that is currently taking place in Europe between Russia and Ukraine”, said the Head of State.
To the President of the Republic, the authorities of both sides must sit down at the negotiating table so that the conflict is resolved, as soon as possible, “before it is too late”.
Still on the war in Ukraine, the Head of State said that Angola’s position has already been publicly expressed several times in various international forums, and the same will be, once again, reiterated at the Washington Summit.
For the international event, which will foresee a better future for the cradle continent, the Head of State said that Angola will take up themes such as its position in relation to the war between Russia and Ukraine, the world food crisis and climate change.
João Lourenço defended greater investments in different environmentally friendly sources of electricity, in addition to the traditional ones that consume carbon.
To combat the global food crisis, the President of the Republic defended greater investments in agriculture on the continent, and in particular in the country. He recalled, by the way, that Angola has “abundant” arable land, good climate, water, but needs capital and technological knowledge to, like Brazil, be able to export agricultural products to the largest consumer markets in the world.
Combating corruption had to do with the need to do justice
João Lourenço highlighted, during the interview, that the need to do justice and repair Angola’s image in the international community was what motivated him to move forward with the fight against corruption and impunity.
He recalled, by the way, that Angola was known for two negative issues, specifically the war that, fortunately, was left behind and, now, is working to eliminate corruption and impunity. “The war was resolved. Now, little by little, we are solving the problem of corruption and impunity”, stressed João Lourenço.
In his one-hour interview, President João Lourenço admitted that the courage to carry out the fight against corruption has its consequences. “There are those who came to interpret that I created a division within the party, but that is not what happened”, he said, stating that people involved in corruption do not represent a “big slice” in the party.
João Lourenço continued, adding that there were those who saw in this fight against corruption the predictable defeat of the MPLA, which also did not happen, as you can see. “The MPLA won the elections and we will continue to work”, he stressed. “We cannot say that corruption no longer exists, because it still exists, but on a smaller scale. However, the challenge is great”.
“I could have opted for a comfortable position, and continued the situation I found, but if I did, I would be doing a very bad service to the country, since, the money from corruption would serve for development, taking into account that resources are always scarce”, he stressed.
He referred, in this line of thought, that, no matter how much riches a country has, above all to attend to social issues, such as Education and Health, or to invest in infrastructure, money is never enough.
By way of example, he indicated that of the recovered assets, financial and not only, it was possible to start with the Integrated Plan of Intervention in Municipalities (PIIM), with a value of 2 billion dollars. With this amount, the State has made important investments, which allow giving another life to the municipalities.
Best business environment
President João Lourenço reaffirmed that the Executive, under his leadership, is creating policies to create a better business environment to strengthen the private sector.
He said, in this regard, that he believes that the solution to the high unemployment rate that afflicts the country lies in the private sector of the local economy, “where we will definitely find the solution to this problem”.
He referred that the State continues to provide employment, in the Civil Service, especially in the Social, Education and Health sectors. The State has carried out public tenders, with high numbers, but even so, employment cannot be found only in these two sectors. “It somehow reduces unemployment, but it doesn’t solve it”, said João Lourenço.
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The solution is to have more and more companies in the private sector, more industry and factories, he said.
“We need to industrialize the country. But it is the private sector that makes the industry, and the other way of contributing to the increase in employability is to attract foreign direct investment”, he said, adding that with foreign direct investment, “we will diversify the economy and, consequently, give jobs to citizens”.
Local Authorities
Regarding the August 24 elections, President João Lourenço said, once again, that they were not local or municipal, but general. This means, he said, that either you win the general elections or you lose, the results in each province or municipality do not count. “This only contributes to, ultimately, determine your victory or not”, he stressed.
“We didn’t lose, maybe we won fewer MPs than has been the habit in these provinces. If we are afraid that when local authorities are instituted, we will have bad results, no. The party will have to fight to have good results in all the municipalities where local authorities take place”, he promised.
The President of the Republic recalled that it has not yet been defined whether the autarchies will take place in the 164 municipalities or will be phased. He explained, by the way, that, when it is defined, “the party has to fight to win with as many numbers as possible”.
He referred that due to the fact that the party lost Luanda, it doesn’t worry his party so much, because they are different elections. “When the municipal elections are held, it will be the party’s obligation to be concerned with all municipal elections, regardless of whether they are in the capital or not”, concluded President João Lourenço.
