Luanda — Angolan president João Lourenço sworn in on Thursday Arlindo Bota Manuel Carlos as Secretary of State for Energy, António Fernandes Rodrigues Belsa da Costa as Secretary of State for Water, and Duarte André Ginga, Deputy Governor of Malanje province for Technical Services and Infrastructure.

During the ceremony, the President of the Republic emphasized the importance of the water and energy sectors, both for the lives of the population and for the economic and social development of any country.

João Lourenço said the government has paid special attention to both sectors, since it is aware that the country's development depends on a large extent on their greater or lesser supply.

"We have made huge investments and even so they are still not enough for us to feel satisfied," the president said.

The president called those taking office to help and work with the minister so that significant steps can be taken in the near future, more than has been done so far in these important sectors of the country's life.

Water

The new Secretary of State for Water pointed to improved distribution as a challenge, adding that projects are underway to tackle this situation, so that there is no slippage in the execution schedule.

He also spoke of the many works being carried out in the Luanda city that cause damage to pipelines, without prior information, which leads to complaints in areas where work has already been carried out.

Energy

The new Secretary of State for Energy on his turn said that he has received clear guidelines from the President of the Republic, so he will work to match the government's efforts to develop the sector.

Challenges for Malanje

The deputy governor of Malanje said that the challenges are great, not only in the energy, water and telecommunications sectors, since the province needs a lot of development in various areas, so he will work and do his best to leverage the province's growth.