Luanda — The MPLA will continue to focus on dialogue and build consensus on major issues of national interest in the democratic and participatory governance system with citizens, the MP Idalina Valente said on Friday.
"In the system of democratic and participatory governance with citizens, for the MPLA Parliamentary Group, dialogue will always prevail and we will seek to build consensus on major issues of national interest", said Idalina Valente.
The ruling party MP, who was reading the Political Declaration of the MPLA in the framework of the discussion and approval of the Proposed General State Budget (OGE) for 2023, stated that the country has been witnessing a change in attitudes.
The deputy mentioned a new political culture of greater freedom and debate in the public space and greater proximity between government officials and citizens.
She stated that the MPLA understands situations of strikes, demonstrations or expressions of freedom by union of professionals or isolated citizens, but recalled that "democracy only makes sense if there is respect for difference".
The MP appealed to the Executive for an increasingly clear and perceptible communication that eliminates speculation, generating security and confidence in the work of the institutions "without falling into the demagoguery propagated to the seven winds by the political opposition, which does nothing more than invent facts to justify their mistakes".
Idalina Valente recalled that "it was not the Executive that expelled journalists from Rádio Despertar, owned by the largest opposition UNITA party".
On the other hand, in her political declaration, Florbela Malaquias, from the PHA, claimed the urgency of institutionalizing the local government system, "that allow self-government for human development, in accordance with the specific interests arising from the neighborhood, through their own representative bodies of each circumscription of the national territory".
For the parliamentarian, the protection of human rights is a national commitment linked to the positive obligation to implement public services, through a "humanist budget" that presents a numerical landscape compatible with the existential needs of citizens.
She said that it is the responsibility of the MPs to work for the realisation of human rights.
Benedito Daniel, from the Mixed Parliamentary Group (PRS-FNLA), said that the 2023 State Budget Proposal was drawn up "with the vision of measures for infrastructure and major strategic objectives, rather than benefiting social strata or people".
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According to the deputy, this budget does not provide for exemptions for most social services, for whom, "despite the VAT having been revised down to 7 percent, it still weighs on the citizen's pocket and the Labour Income Tax (IRT) is too high for a large number of Angolan officials.
On the other hand, in his political declaration, the president of the UNITA parliamentary group, Liberty Chiaka, said that the 2023 State Budget Proposal "does not serve national interests, because the current concrete reality of the country translates into a difficult economic and social situation for the majority of the population".
Chika said the public policies made known in this OGE proposal seem "inconsistent, unrealistic and insufficient to provide an effective and efficient response to the serious national problems".
