Luanda — Angola's President João Lourenço said on Monday in Luanda that the political and military situation in the country is stable.
When delivering the Message on the State of the Nation, on the occasion of the Solemn Opening Session of the 2023-2024 Parliamentary Year of the 5th Legislature, he confirmed that there are no relevant threats capable of jeopardizing peace, territorial integrity, sovereignty and stability, public order and the normal functioning of constitutional bodies.
The President stressed that the Armed Forces remain solid and firm in fulfilling their main mission of defending the state, as do the National Police in fulfilling their purpose of protecting citizens and ensuring public order and tranquillity.
He recalled that the salary adjustment for military personnel was 61.53 per cent for the basic salary and 38.47 per cent for other remunerations.
Training
He said that the focus on training continues to be a permanent reality, with 3,126 military personnel having been trained in the 2022/2023 period, 99% of them in the country, emphasising that in the framework of international cooperation 887 scholarship holders are being trained abroad.
According to João Lourenço, the goal is to have an Armed Forces that is increasingly stronger and better prepared for the challenges of its nature, hence the continuity of the gradual resizing process and the establishment of the number of military personnel needed, among other priorities.
The focus on improving infrastructure, the Angolan leader emphasised, is an important challenge, and the new Soyo Naval Base, in Zaire province, was recently inaugurated, with a view to ensuring ever greater control and surveillance of the sea coast.
The Head of State explained that the National Maritime Coordination and Surveillance Centre in Luanda province and the Regional Maritime Coordination and Surveillance Centres in Lobito and Namibe are under construction.
He also pointed out that the government is going to acquire patrol ships, corvettes, small speedboats, landing craft and C-295 aircraft for maritime surveillance operations for the Navy.
On the other hand, as part of the programme to improve the military health subsystem, he explained that the old Main Military Hospital is being refurbished and construction work will begin on the new Military Hospital in Luanda and the Regional Military Hospitals in Cabinda, Huambo and Moxico, as well as preparing the conditions to build the Regional Military Hospitals in Huíla and Uíge.
He also pointed out the need for continued appreciation and recognition of former combatants and veterans of the homeland. The re-registration and proof of life process has been carried out, with 85,765 of the 162,300 expected to be assisted, and 66,396 of those assisted are ready to be included in SIGFE, generating savings to boost other benefits for the class.
Crime
In his message, which lasted more than two hours, the President of the Republic pointed out that the crime rate is showing a downward trend, including violent crime, with the prison system controlling a penal population of around 25,000 inmates in 40 prisons, 55 per cent of whom have been convicted.
However, he said that despite the investments made in recent years, there are ongoing challenges, particularly in terms of the shortfall in the number of staff, given the country's territorial extension and population density.
"We also need to continue investing in infrastructure and in the technical and logistical resources required for police activity in the most diverse areas," he argued.
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He said that the projects underway will help to improve intervention capacity, prioritising the recruitment and training of more personnel for the National Police and the different Executive Services of the Ministry of the Interior, in order to increase human capacity.
He reported on the construction of the Operational Logistics Centre for Disaster Management, the Border Guard Police Posts in various locations, as well as the National Police's Rapid Reaction and Patrol Units in the provinces of Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul, to improve the security of the diamond reserve and exploration areas, in addition to other equipment for the prison and operational services.
The priorities, he said, include continued preventive intervention against crime and delinquency, stepping up the fight against illegal mining of diamonds and precious metals, humanising the prison system, strengthening the presence of the security forces at the borders, as well as preventing accidents on the roads that have claimed the lives of many Angolans. VIC/DAN/DOJ
