Angola: Government Prioritises Health and Education
Luanda — The sectors of Health and Education are among the highlights in relation to the implementation of the Integrated Municipal Intervention Plan (PIIM), said Monday in the Province of Luanda the secretary of State for Local Elections, Márcio Daniel.
Speaking to the press at the end of the Fourth Ordinary Meeting of the Interministerial Commission for the Implementation of the PIIM, Márcio Daniel said the health sector registered 129 completed projects, in which he highlighted 45 health centres, 18 municipal hospitals, which corresponds to 2,820 new hospital beds made available to the population.
He revealed that the health infrastructures include maternal and child centres, as well as hospitals units in the municipalities, having also emphasised the completion of 46 health posts as part of the provision of primary care infrastructure.
Regarding the education sector, it has 313 completed projects, highlighting 160 new schools with seven classrooms and 61 schools with 12 classrooms, totaling 8,842 new classrooms available which enabled the inclusion in the education system of over one million new students distributed at the various levels of education.
On the other hand, Márcio Daniel said that the meeting focused on the 2024 financial year, in the scope of the approval of the General State Budget (OGE), to maximise the deconcentration of competences of small and medium-sized projects.
He said that local bodies will be more prevalent in the implementation of public projects.
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The meeting also served as an assessment of the holding in September in the Province of Lunda Sul, the workshop on “Reference of Good Practice in Project Management” for the celebration of the third anniversary of the PIIM, to review the experience gained during the project.
The province was chosen because it has PIIM projects at a more advanced stage.
He clarified that despite the financial challenges that the State Treasury is going through, the Government is securing resources and they are not affecting the implementation of the PIIM.
The government official recalled that the companies facing difficulties in the execution of the works are not only due to the financial nature, as they are currently making the approval of the monthly instalments.
“The situations of repeated non-compliance by some contracted business entities have triggered a process of contract termination, amendment and subcontracting process, as well as assignment of the contractual position that often causes the interruption”, he clarified.
Of the 2,687 projects in the country’s 18 provinces, more than 800 have been completed, consuming 643 billion kwanzas to the state.
The Integrated Plan for Intervention in Municipalities (PIIM) aims to materialise Public Investment (PIP), Development Support Expenditure (DAD) and Basic Activities (Act) actions, with priority for social actions, in order to inhibit rural exodus and promote more inclusive economic, social and regional growth in the country.
This Plan aims to increase the autonomy of Angola’s 164 municipalities within the framework of the policy of deconcentration and decentralisation of administrative powers and thus increase the quality of life throughout the national territory. Ml/VIC/MRA/jmc
