Luanda — The president of People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), João Lourenço, on Monday in Luanda Province reaffirmed his commitment to building a true market economy, which prioritises the private business sector in the production of goods and services for domestic consumption and export.
At the opening of the 5th Ordinary Meeting of the party's Central Committee, João Lourenço said that building a market economy must at the same time guarantee more jobs for citizens, particularly for young people.
He also said that the country is carrying out a series of political and economic reforms and a series of measures aimed at creating a good business environment and attracting investors, adding that the political and economic reforms underway are aimed at strengthening the foundations of the Democratic State and the Rule of Law and making the Angolan economy more diversified and competitive.
Mr. Lourenço spoke about the need for more goods and services to be produced, the reduction of imports, increase of exports and job opportunities, bearing in mind a quote from Angola's first president, António Agostinho Neto, who said that "the most important thing is to solve people's problems", emphasising among the measures the fight against corruption and impunity.
He denounced the existence of retrograde forces which instead of helping they devalue the fight against corruption, join themselves with those who for years have used the treasury and public assets on a large scale for their own benefit and to overthrow the MPLA, which is committed to fighting this evil.
The leader of the ruling party reiterated the organisation's commitment to the well-being of Angolans, in order to meet their basic needs on food, energy, drinking water, housing, education and health, among others, as well as appealed greater proximity to the militants at the grass-roots structures.
He asked his party's militants to remain focused on fulfilling the government programme presented in the last general elections and not to let themselves be disturbed by other things, but to make the MPLA the largest and most inclusive party in Angola.
João Lourenço praised the members of the parliament who rejected an initiative to remove the President of the Republic from office.
On the subject of cooperation between the country and the United States of America (USA), João Lourenço said that Angola had become the first African country to see the benefits of the strategic partnership with the USA due to the financing of the consortium that will operate the Lobito Corridor, a logistics infrastructure that will bring benefits to regional and international trade, as well as the financing to projects linked to the production of photovoltaic energy at the southern region of the country.
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67th anniversary of the founding of the MPLA
The president of the MPLA, João Lourenço, congratulated the party on 67 years of fighting for the cause of the Angolan people, recalling that among the great achievements were the conquest of national independence from the colonial regime, overcoming foreign aggressors and achieving definitive peace, which created a favourable environment for the reconstruction process.
The meeting, which was preceded by another of the Politburo, discussed issues related to the party's internal life and the political, economic and social situation in the country.
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